Just Kiss Already!
by Athenagal22
Summary: A year since Annabeth & Percy have saved Olympus; Uncertainty & confusion is mingled with love, lust, and joy for these two, & everyone at CampHalfBlood can tell that it'll be one LONG summer. Percabeth.Rated T just incase.Also a LITTLE OOC,Fluff-y & OC!
1. I'm not in love SERIOUSLY!

**Ok—this was my 2****nd**** story, and hopefully it will be more lovey-dovey than my last story, which was more dramatic and stuff… I hope whoever reads this likes it! ; )**

**Annabeth's POV**

One year.

It's been one happy, lovey-dovey year since the day we saved Olympus…and mankind.

I slowly step out of the limo, while clutching a small umbrella.

"_Camp Half-Blood"_ I whisper, my eyes darting from the pine tree to the gate, to the strawberry fields and everything in between.

"_It's been a while hasn't it?" _Rachel scrambles out of the other end of the limo –the limo that she insisted she'd pay for- and rearranges her thin fall skirt.

I toss my hair over my shoulder and purse me lips. _"A WHILE doesn't even cover it. Gods, it's been ages!"_

Rachel mutters something that sounded like _"over-excited much?"_

I made a small sympathetic sound; not much people like Rachel since she was…different.

"_Come ON! It'll be fun! It's Camp Half-Blood!" _I half-heartedly reached out to Rachel and pulled her into a comforting hug.

"_OH yeah! Bring on that girl on girl action!" _A male voice crowed.

I whip my head up to see Travis Stoll leaning his arms onto the hood of his new car, leering mockingly at us.

Connor was behind him, struggling to mask a grin as I shoot them an incredulous look.

"_Oh PLEASE Travis! Don't you think it's a little pathetic to get excited over hugs?"_ Rachel giggles, giving him a knowing wink.

Now it was my turn to give _her_ an incredulous stare. Who was this flirt and what had she done to Rachel Dare?

Shooting the Stall brothers a wary look, I dragged Rachel by the elbow up to the Camp gates. So much for taking a step back and taking in the magical view…

"_OW! Annabeth! What are you do-ing?" _ Rachel whines sulkily, shaking off my hand.

"_PLEASE don't tell me that you're into TRAVIS STOLL! He's-he's…"_

"_HE'S GORGEOUS! Did you see how big his biceps were! And that T-shirt definitely gave us a full view of his abs…What's wrong with YOU! Don't tell me that your really are a lesb-"_

I stared at her, horrified. Did she really think I loved her? Or worse, that she thought she was pretty enough to MAKE me fall for her?

There's defiantly a line that shows the difference between any normal girl and a whorish Aphrodite girl; Aphrodite girls have big egos, but no brains.

"_EW! RACHEL! Wasn't it Travis and Connor that put those super-sized roaches in the girls' bathroom, causing panic attacks and bloodshed everywhere?" _

Rachel just laughed, shaking her head. _Thank the Gods I have my own bathroom here! Oh and now I remember why you're so frigid around guys; you have a boyfriend!" _

My cheeks flushed. _"Percy's not my boyfriend! We're just…friends…"_

Rachel rolls her eyes, and dramatically exaggerates a wink. _"RIGHHT! 'Cuz friends ALWAYS make out with each other, and always feel a burning fiery passion—"_

"_STOP! We didn't MAKE OUT ok? It was just one quick kiss, and it didn't mean anything!"_ I realize what I had just said, and my hand flies to my mouth, as if to take it back.

Rachel's eyes go wide and she stares at me, jaws slack.

I stare at her with pleading eyes, my lips dangerously curving into a goofy smile.

She recovers quickly, and her mouth snaps shut, eyes narrowing.

"_You KISSED Percy? Gods! I've always thought one day you two would but…You like Percy! You WANT to kiss him more! You NEED to see him right now!" _she squealed, barely controlling peals of laughter. 

I was fuming angrily. _"SHUT UP!" _I begged, my face red; I don't usually talk about this stuff.

She set her face into a frown at first, her chin trembling.

Then suddenly, she bursts out laughing. _"I CANT help it! Your cute love life makes me so giddy!"_ Her eyes widened in surprise. _"Damn. I really AM turning into an Aphrodite girl, aren't I?"_ She gives me an angelic grin, batting her eyelashes.

I just storm off to my cabin in response.

Once I get there, I pause and take a deep soothing breath.

My cabin was just exactly the way I remembered it…and it felt like home.

Half an hour later, I'm cushioned into my bed, my knees tucked into my chin, reading a book silently, and thinking only about Percy.

Last time I saw him was the next day after he had kissed me under water; it turned out –I found out just as we reached the car- that I was moving back to Sans Francisco…which was _very_ far from Percy.

I paused to glance up, annoyed, as a bunch of newbies from my Cabin prance in, holding a soccer ball and laughing noisily.

My heart catches when I hear their conversation.

"_Ohmygosh! Isn't that Percy guy really cute? I can't believe that he actually defeated Cronus! Well, actually I CAN! Did you SEE him?"_

They laughed some more and flipped their straightened hairs, and put on some more makeup –_Urgh! The Aphrodite girls should be more of a role model…why do people even see them as a role model? _

"_I caught a glimpse of him! He was just at the gate about 5 minutes ago! Aha! You should SEE the swarm of girls there! It's like a battlefield!" _

That does it. I throw my book down and jump out of my bed with a THUD.

The girls flinch in surprise, and turn around to see me with curious faces.

_Why should I care about those girls? And why am I so excited to see him? It's just stupid Seaweed Brain! _

I shake my head. He's my best friend…THAT'S why I'm excited to see him…it's a pretty good excuse…wait! NO! There IS NO excuse! He's just a friend…

I speed walk to the main gates, and I halt.

A gorgeous black haired boy sets his suitcase down, and then straightens up, eyes closed, soaking up the sunlight.

My legs feel a little wobbly, and I my hand jerked up to the wall so I can steady myself.

I think back to what Rachel said. _Over-dramatic? Definitely! _

Just then, his eyes open, revealing the sea-green eyes that I know too well.

I suck in a breath as I stared at him; he looked a lot more different than last year…more…stronger?

Lean, tall, and muscular. I struggled with my breath as he stared at me.

As I watched his face –a bit too intently- he broke into a full out sun-shine smile that radiated eagerness all the way to where I stood.

My automatic response was a smile, and I took that as a single to come over.

_Just act normal Annabeth Chase. Act normal._ I pep-talked myself as I stared at Percy the whole time I nervously walked over to him.

"_Percy" _I smile as I lean over to give him a quick hug.

Happiness.

**Yay! My first chapters done! ; ) Please feel free to tell me how you felt about this chapter! All reviews are greatly appreciated! *Smiles***


	2. What are you talking about!

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! I was even more surprise with the amount of people that added me onto their favorites list (I was checking my email and I choked on water when I saw how many notifications I got xD) Thanks a bunch! ; )**

**Percy's POV**

I stepped out of the Grey Sister's Cab, and tossed them a gold Drachma.

Jeez, it felt good to be back…but the last few minutes felt like the fiery wrath of Tartarus by the demonic speed of the cab.

"P-Percy?" Nico huffed, and I turned to see him attempting to carry all our things.

"Dude you could've just asked me!" I lift all the things Nico was holding easily into my arms, and Nico shoots me a look of desperate envy.

He was past all the awe of new people, and now all he sort of followed me around, as if I was some role model.

"We're not all invincible…" He sulks quietly, and I just roll my eyes, smirking.

"Yo Perce! Thought you'd chicken out this summer!" Travis Stoll meets Nico and me up at the gate, and following him was Connor Stoll, Chris Rodriguez, and Grover.

"Me? Yeah right! You so wish I did!" I laugh and fist bump each of them.

Travis shoots me a mischievous look.

"I think I honestly _do_ wish you weren't here!" He laughs, and Connor echo's his laughs as well.

"What are you talking about?" I raise an eyebrow at him, and pucker my lips, fluttering my eyelashes, imitating a drag queen. "I thought you'd miss me!"

They all laugh at my imitation of a rough, husky voice, and Travis tries to smack my face, but I dodge out of the way, still chuckling.

"Nah. Just saw Annabeth," –I stop laughing and I try to make my face look expressionless- "And DAMN she looks…_good_."

My fingers twitch, but I clench them up, and cross them over my chest.

"Oh?" …perfect reply Percy. Is that the best I can think of?

"Yeah." He grins at me; wiggling his eyebrows and I felt a little frustrated and angry, but I didn't show it.

"I tried to talk to her, but she literally gave me the cold shoulder!" He sniffed indifferently.

It takes all of my self-control to hide a smug grin.

Chris laughed, just as Clarisse joined our conversation, and gave Chris a quick peck.

Chris smiled. "Travis, I'm honestly surprised that none of the other girls are giving you the cold shoulder."

Travis put a hand to his chest, feigning offence. "ME? Why?"

Clarisse rolls her eyes. "Maybe it's 'cause you act like such an ass to everyone in camp?"

Everyone then launches into unbelievable stories about the most memorable Stoll Brother Pranks, and I take that as my queue to leave.

I grin at the whole view of Camp, and I can't help that grin from being stuck on my face.

"PERCY JACKSON!" A girl's voice screams out my name, and I whirl around to find…Rachel.

"Oh hey Rachel" I mumble.

She gives me a hug, and then smirks at me. "Looking for Annabeth?"

"WHAT? No! I was just…looking at the view! It's been so long and stuff since I've seen Camp and…yeah."

Rachel's eyes widen and stare at me with fake curiosity. "But-isn't she your best friend? I thought you'd WANT to see her!"

I sigh, shaking my head. "Yeah, I do want to see her! I just thought you meant it in the other way- you were making it seem as if- it seemed like…" I was a stuttering wreck…I felt so damn pressured!

She tilts her head to the side, and I see a smile playing on her lips. "What other way? Oh! THAT way! Wait-are you thinking about Annabeth being your potential girlfriend?"

I can see that she's faking all her surprise. "Annabeth's my FRIEND." My face is red and I can't get the words out quick enough.

"Po. tential. Girl. Friend!" Rachel sings out loud. "I bet you want to kiss her again and—"

"WHAT! We-we didn't…how…who told you that?" I stutter more, backing away from the conversation.

Rachel stares at something behind me, smirks again, and shrugs, twirling around and decides to walk to the Big House.

I close my eyes, trying to control my frustration, and I turn around.

I see Annabeth leaning against a wall, staring at me with those beautiful smoky gray eyes.

_Best friend. She's my best friend. _I give her a wide smile and she smirks coolly from where she was.

Then, pushing away from the wall, she walks over to me, and I'm having a hard time concentrating on my surroundings.

"Percy." She smiles shakily at me and I stare at her, a little confused.

'_Percy'_? What ever happened to good ol' Seaweed Brain?

I shake my head lightly; my ADHD was getting in the way, so I force myself to pay attention to….my BEST FRIEND.

Her hand sticks out awkwardly, and she leans into me staring at my face.

Immediately, I take her soft hand into mine and shake it.

Her face goes red, and she whips her hand back to the side, and coughs.

I swear I heard her mutter "moron" but I couldn't be sure, so I ignore it.

We stand there awkwardly; me just rocking back and forth on my heels, Annabeth cradling one arm behind her.

Luckily, we were saved form any more awkward silences when Grover comes up to us.

"Annabeth! Hey! It's good to see you!" He grins, and gives her a big hug. She laughs, and hugs him back.

Suddenly it dawns on me on how stupid I've been.

When she had stuck out her hands, she was about to _hug _me, but instead I shook her hand like some random business guy.

My face goes red, and I curse myself for being so idiotic. I could have given her a hug!

I ruefully regret not thinking more wisely, and I wonder how I can get a hug back from her.

I snap back into the conversation, just as Grover was saying that he had to attend a meeting with the other satyrs. Thank the Gods for that!

It was just the two of us, again.

Annabeth looks at me uncertainly, and playfully punches me in the arm.

"It's been a while Seaweed Brain." She smiles at me, and looks over her shoulder as the other cabin leaders call for their cabin mates to eat lunch.

My throat is weirdly dry, and I just nod. She rolls her eyes at me, and to my pleasant surprise, she gives me a quick hug.

"It's good to be back, isn't it?" I can hear a smile in her voice as she holds onto me for another moment, and then she let go.

I cough, my face hot, and I stare up at her with a stupidly eager smile. "Yeah, it is."

Her face is as equally red, and she crosses her arms over her chest. "I think you should go." She nods off at Travis and all my other friends.

"Yeah…ok." DAMN! Is that all I can say?

I back away, still grinning like mad, and I finally turn around, tearing my eyes away from the blushing Annabeth.

I was sort of in a daze after seeing her, and I replayed our meeting in my head, the way she smil-

"ARGH!" I fell down on my ass, I glanced up, annoyed.

"Watch where you're going!" I had bumped into Clarisse, which was basically like running into a brick wall.

She gives me the dirtiest of dirty looks, and walks off.

I risk looking back and I see Annabeth covering her mouth, holding back laughter.

I smile widely at her, and she gives me a tiny smile, and walks back to the Athena cabin.

I watch her leave, and just then Nico comes by.

"Hey Perce! What are you doing on the ground? And what are you staring at?" He follows my gaze and sees Annabeth, and smiles.

"Ohh, I see." He flashes me a knowing grin, and shakes his head.

"What are you talking about? I-I just fell!" I quickly scramble up, and turn my back on the cabin.

Nico rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Just watch out, 'cause Annabeth isn't the _only_ girl in Camp who's eager to meet you."

He nods off to where a cluster of girls were whispering, and when I looked at them, they burst into a fit of giggles.

My face goes red again, and I stare down at the grass, but then back at Annabeth's cabin.

"What do you mean about Annabeth being eager to see me?" I stare at Nico, who just smirks and rolls his eyes.

"Nico stop being an ass!" I lightly shove him, and then I ruffle his hair.

Rachel had the same look too-they were probably humoring me.

"You like Annabeth, don't you?" Nico looks at me seriously, and I'm a little confused.

"Of course! She's like my best friend."

Nico's face falls, but then gives me a maddening smile.

"Of _course_ she's _just_ your friend." He shakes his head to himself, and walks away.

What the hell was that about?

**I know that still pretty OOC, but I warned you guys (I think)~! : ) Reviews would be nice! ; )**


	3. Just Friends, Right?

**Thanks for the reviews to the people that did! : ) NO! I just realized that I don't have a disclaimer! *Gasps* Well, here it is!**

****Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Percy Jackson characters, and they all belong to Rick Riordan, and this Fanfiction is basically just for my own pure entertainment, and enjoyment.** **

**Annabeth's POV**

Dinner was pretty exhilarating.

The whole darn time, I couldn't help but steal quick glances at Percy…and each time he some how always chose that moment to look around, and he would _always_ catch my eye!

I must have looked pretty stupid, so for the rest of the dinner, I would stare down at my plate, and attempted to make conversation with the rest of my cabin.

"Hey Annabeth, are you ok?" Malcolm stared at me, his mouth twitching.

Suddenly, all conversation at my table died down, and everyone turned to stare at me.

I felt self-conscious and panic rise inside of me. "Of course I'm ok! Why wouldn't I be?" I blurt, and I stare down at my hands, fuming.

A few people started chatting away again, and when I chose that time to look up, I see Rachel staring at me questioningly.

_What's with the random attention? _It's just…me! I didn't understand what was wrong!

Still staring at Rachel, I push away from the table, and I walk to the bathroom with shaky legs.

I didn't look any different…except my face was VERY red.

I poked my cheek, and frowned. I blushed bunches of times before, but this was a whole new level of blushing.

Just then, a bunch of Aphrodite girls skip into the bathroom, and I shift uncomfortably; it suddenly feels really cramped.

There was a moment of silence, and then a few of them began to make conversations with each other.

A group –probably the dominate girls- still stared at me, so I pushed through a bunch of girls to leave.

As quick as a flash, a hand whips out, and stops me from walking away.

I whirl around, my heart beating. I had no patience with the Aphrodite girls, but apparently they considered me competition, after getting known for saving Olympus, I guess people also sort of idolized me as much as Aphrodite girls were idolized.

"What?" I stare at them coolly, and I lift my chin up defiantly.

They stare at me, there faces somber, before springing into pathetic grins.

"You know Percy Jackson, right?" The ring leader of the group leans onto the wall, and stares at me with those impossibly icy, heavy-lidded, makeup-filled eyes.

I nod wordlessly, and I become a little defensive. "Yeah, what about it?"

A younger girl couldn't contain her excitement. "OH MY GOD! He's so HOT! You are _so_ lucky you know him! I just wanna—"

Her voice is overlapped by other pathetic stories of girls wanting to be with Percy.

I don't want them to know about my feelings for Percy…WAIT! I don't like Percy, I'm just…a good friend. And these girls are _definitely_ not good enough for Percy.

I roll my eyes and laugh while shrugging, while inside I'm mortified by the amount of feline girls that are so dominant of claiming Percy.

"Ah…Well, why are you telling me about all this?" I raise an eyebrow, smiling uncertainly.

The main girl of the cabin steps forward, and thrusts her face into mine.

"He was staring at you throughout this whole dinner." –Cue for me to blush harder than before- "and we're just warning you to not get involved because you obviously don't deserve him."

My smile disappears as she says this.

This doesn't affect me at all, but with everyone staring at me, smirking, I feel humiliated. My face flushes, but I don't say anything.

Suddenly, Rachel's standing in front of us, staring down the Aphrodite girl.

"Come on Annabeth. Don't listen to these whores. They're just intimidated by people who _aren't _one of them that can easily get _more _attention than they ever will."

Rachel tugs at my arm, but I hold still. "You're warning me to not get involved?"

I mentally wince, wishing my voice could sound as strong as Rachel's did, but I'm in no position to care about that.

"I can't believe that you –who I don't even know by the way- would actually be making the biggest deal about something as _stupid _and _juvenile_ as this."

I swiftly turn around, and march out the door and out of the Dining Pavilion-followed by curious stares of the other campers.

I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and I was totally embarrassed.

I'm glad Rachel doesn't hover and follow me outside; I just need time alone.

I run down to the beach, and inhale the cooling air. It doesn't really help.

"Annabeth?"

I don't flinch, but I stare down at my sand-covered toes.

I feel his presence behind me; he must have followed me from the Dining Pavilion.

"Hey Seaweed Brain."

He chuckles behind me, and I turn around.

_Damn. _He looked very…_*cue for my dictionary-of-a-mind to trail off with descriptive words* _

I inhale deeply, and blow out a sigh.

"Wanna talk about it?" His voice is a little soft, and unsure.

"There's nothing _to_ talk about Seaweed Brain."

He groans, and decides to crash back into the sandy beach, pulling me along with him.

"OWW! Percy!" I laugh, surprised, and I give him a shove while still lying on the ground.

He just grins at me, until it flickers into a content smile, and turns to lie on his back, staring up at the sky.

"There are so many stars out tonight." He breathes in.

I sit up quickly. "Isn't that a _very_ predictable line from a corny romance movie?"

My mouth snaps shut. _Oh my Gods Annabeth! Why must I be so blunt? _

He stares at me, his face a little flushed from laughing.

"Yeah, I guess it is." He gives me another childishly adorable grin, and stretches out.

I laugh again, and I lie down beside him.

"Do you think this year we'll finally have a normal Camp summer?" My mind flashes to the bathroom scene that I had just an hour ago.

He turns back on his side to look at me. "Isn't being in mortal Danger count as 'normal' for Camp?"

I can tell he's thinking about everything we went through together, and I know for a fact that he's thinking about our underwater kiss, since at that moment his face goes red.

I touch his shoulder briefly, and he stares at me questioningly.

I ignore it, and I sit up, tucking my knees under my chin, staring at the water.

"Do you remember how it was after we saved Olympus, after…Luke, after the Great Prophecy was over?"

We both blushed, and sat in silence, thinking back to our last day –Percy's Birthday-, at Camp last year.

"Yeah…I remember. Why are you asking about it?" Percy says lightly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I stare into his sea-green eyes, wondering how on Earth he could hang around someone like me.

My mind flashes back to the Aphrodite girls, and I shudder.

Just as my reigned my mind back into reality, I see that Percy is sort of leaning into me, and my heart skips a beat.

_He doesn't deserve me. He doesn't deserve someone like me. I'm just his best friend, and I can't jeopardize it. _

My fingers curl up into the sand, and as quick as a flash, I throw the handful of sand into his surprised face.

Then, I kneel close to his ear. "Good. Just don't forget it." I whisper, and I laugh at his astounded expression.

His eyes narrow, and he looks hurt, and my heart goes out.

He sits closer to me, so close that I can almost _taste_ the softness of his mouth.

"Annabeth, I would _never _forget that. It's special to me, and it's one of my best memories of Camp.

He leans into me, and my mouth goes dry. This time I know I don't have any willpower to stop him.

Suddenly, he smears my face with muddy sand. I blink rapidly, stunned.

Now, he leans into my ear, and breathes deeply. "So just don't forget that." And then he starts to laugh.

I narrow my eyes at him, smiling mischievously.

"You think you're so cleaver Seaweed Brain?" I start digging up sand, bundling it into my arms, and I dump it all onto the top of his head.

His eyes widen, and he grins back. "You have no idea Wise Girl."

My vision gets blurred with sand, and all I can hear for the next hour is our breathless laughter against the ocean tide.

Its _way_ past or curfew, but we don't really care.

We tiptoe into Camp, covering our mouths from laughter whenever we see someone coming, or ducking to the ground in fear of being spotted.

Percy walks me to my cabin, and we sort of linger in front of it for a few moments.

Finally, I just smile. "Good night Seaweed Brain."

He stares at me for a second, and then breaks into a tired, happy smile. "Goodnight Wise Girl."

I softly close the door, and I peak out the window.

I cover my mouth to muffle my giggle as I see Percy doing a happy dance as he silently runs back to his cabin.

_Just friends. _I smile again, thinking how easy being just a friend was. Maybe I can actually forget my feelings?

I stare at the small shape of Percy's dancing-figure which starts to fade into the distance.

_This IS just being friends…right?_

**I would REALLY appreciate reviews…PLEASE? : ) they boost my self-esteem on this story, and get me write more! Please review? I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, and I'd like to hear your opinion! **


	4. You've GOT to be kidding me!

**Thanks for all your reviews everyone! : ) Each one made me smile! : D However…I'm on the verge of some SERIOUS writer's block…so hopefully it'll go away! :D **

**Percy's POV**

I was the happiest person in history.

NONE of my other Camp years could ever match up to this year.

I sat alone at the Poseidon Table in the Dining Pavilion, but I didn't even care.

Annabeth was probably just coming back from Training, so she would be a little late.

I took moments like this to sit back and actually think of how freaking amazing being a Half-Blood was.

Just then, someone's hands clamp down onto my eyes.

"Ahh! Annabeth!" I laugh, and swat her hands away.

I turn around with a big smile that fades into a humiliated frown.

It wasn't Annabeth who wrapped her hands around my eyes, it was some random girl.

"Umm…Hi?" I don't really know what to say, so I just give her a tight smile, and I turn back to picking at my food.

"Morning, Breakfast Time. Dining Pavilion. Percy Jackson acts delusional, laughing and calling others by the name of 'Annabeth'. Preferably Annabeth Chase, from the Athena Cabin."

I whirl around, and I see the girl holding an old-fashioned tape recorder to her mouth, staring at me grimly, but her eyes were sparkling.

"Umm…Excuse me?" I stare at this girl like she was crazy…and I pretty sure she was.

Just then Annabeth comes back from Training, her face flushed and her hair a mess.

"Hey Seaweed Brain! Sorry I'm la-"

"Perseus Jackson is in love in with you!" The random girl shouts at Annabeth.

"Excuse ME?" Annabeth stops in her tracks and gives me a confused and blank look, unsure of what to say.

"What did you just say?" We both stutter at the same time.

She clicks a switch on her tape recorder. "Dining Pavilion. Moments after, Annabeth Chase arrives. Dramatically declines any relationship what-so-ever with Jackson. Face is read as a tomato, and her hair needs a lot of work, pronto."

"Who are you?" Annabeth is even redder than before, and I choose this moment to get up.

"Why are you recording everything about us?" I demand, looking down at the petite girl in front of me.

Her eyes widen, and she flicks at her recorder again, and starts whispering. "The lovers seem to react hostile towards any accusations of them being together."

Just then, Grover walks by, munching on tin cans.

He quickly backtracks when he sees our Annabeth and me fuming.

"Yo Perce! What's up?" His eyes take in the random girl, and he laughs deeply.

The girls smiles at Grover, and lifts up her recorder to say something about him.

"After the lover's tantrum, beloved Lord of the Wild, Grover, ambles in and lightens the situation."

He sighs, resigned to his fate of being recorded.

"Guys, this is Pheme. Her life long obsession is gossiping and rumors…and it seems that she's made you guys her new pet-project."

He looked as scared as he was when he saw the Fates snip their threads in front of me, all that time ago.

Pheme tucks her recorder into her pocket, but she still clutched it, and smiles.

"I don't understand why everyone hates when I make them my new project! It's just a way to make you guys famous in Camp!"

We roll our eyes, and laugh nervously.

"Trust me; we've had enough fame for a lifetime." Annabeth clarifies for her.

"We'd like to lay low now, and we'd also like you to stop recording us." I say firmly, making sure she got it.

She didn't.

"Too bad guys! I _never_ give up on a project. _Ever._" She briefly smiles at us, and turns away, taking her recorder back out and whispering Gods-know-what to it.

Grover groans. "You don't know how bad you've got it!" But then he smiles. "I'm glad it isn't me."

"_Thanks _Grover." I mutter sarcastically.

Annabeth was clearly disturbed by Pheme.

"So why is she doing this to us, again?" She frowned at Grover.

"Because apparently everyone's talking about how you two are secretly dating, and she always wants to be the one to know what's going on first. And trust me. She _always_ gets her way. She's like the Camp's own gossiping journalist."

We gawk at him, too stunned to even react.

"W-what?" I manage to choke out. "D-d-d-d-_dating_?"

I glance at Annabeth and she has her mouth shut closed in a tight line, her eyes blank.

Uh-oh. That's usually the expression Annabeth uses that clearly says "I'm going to explode in 5 seconds"… I know from the plenty of times she's given _me_ that look.

Miraculously, she doesn't explode.

"Where would she get an idea that we were apparently 'dating'?" She was shaking a bit, and I can tell with anger.

Grover shrugs. "Who knows? I guess you'll have to ask Pheme herself, but first I think you should take a look at this."

He whips out his phone, and goes to the Facebook application on it.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me!" Annabeth looks mortified and pale as her gray eyes bore into Grover's phone.

I slowly edge over to see the screen, frightened for what I'm about to see.

I stare at the screen.

On it was a private page that said "Camp's New Scandalous Couple? Unadulterated Percabeth, Percabeth, and MORE Percabeth!"

The display picture of it was the night at the beach. It show's Annabeth leaning over me, her lips inches away from my ear, both of us covered in sandy mud.

If they had been there that time, they would have known that we were just playing around, but just by looking at this picture, I knew for a fact that _everyone _would misinterpret this!

I whipped the phone out of Grover's hand, and I scanned all the pictures uploaded onto it.

Annabeth stood wordlessly behind me, her finger twitching-probably wanting to hurl that phone against the wall.

It showed pictures of us lying on the ground, nudging each other, having our silly sand-fight, at the front of the Athena cabin, and lastly –to my utter humiliation- a picture of me dancing my way back to my cabin.

Pheme had her own freaking BLOG about us!

This was ridiculous! What are we? In the freaking fifth grade?

"I think I'm going to have a _little _talk with Pheme." Annabeth said darkly, but Rachel quickly caught up, and grabbed her.

"I just heard about the site…dang, I'm sorry you guys! But I know for a fact that you do _not _want to provoke Pheme. She's got the whole Camp wrapped around her finger."

"I don't _care _what the whole Camp thinks! Why is she bothering us anyways?"

Rachel stares at her evenly. "Annabeth, I wouldn't be too sure that it's Pheme who you want to talk to. Have you ever thought that maybe someone put Pheme up to making you miserable?"

Rachel's eyes slide across the room, and rest on a bunch of Aphrodite girls –the same ones from the first day, who had giggled when I looked at them-.

They stopped talking once they noticed we were staring at them, but they quickly left the room, throwing smirks behind their backs.

"I think I have to go." Annabeth muttered, paling at the site of them.

"Wait! Annabeth, are you ok?" I grab her arm, but she flings me off.

"I'm just _peachy_ Seaweed Brain!" she hisses, and storms off.

I stare at her marching figure, and then at Rachel and Grover, confusion written all over my face.

"Don't take it to personally Perce…Annabeth's just sick of them intimidating her."

"Why would they be intimidating her? It's _Annabeth,_ you know- the girl who _never _get intimidated?"

Grover laughs. "Have you ever heard of the term '_Keep your eyes on the prize'_?"

He nods off to the girls again, and I see they're staring intently at me.

I shiver, and turn back to Rachel. "So? What about them?"

This is getting a little too confusing for me to follow.

Rachel gawks at me.

"They know Annabeth's competition Percy! They're trying to humiliate Annabeth by putting sites up like this, so she won't hang around with you anymore!"

My minds a little fuzzy, and my ADHD kicks in. "What competition?"

Rachel throws her hands up in the air. "Why must boys be so…Urgh!"

She storms off, and I give Grover a baffled look.

Grover just stares at me. "Do you like Annabeth?"

"Yeah! She's my best friend."

I realize that this was the EXACT same question Nico asked me a couple of days ago, and I'm determined to find out what's going on.

"Why do you guys keep asking me this!"

Grover slouches, and shakes his head in disbelief.

"Percy-you're way too clueless." And then he walks off, following Rachel and Annabeth.

_What is wrong with everyone?_

**Heyy everyone! I don't think this was my best chapter, but I just needed to introduce new characters into this chapter, and now that's done, I can focus more on the plot! (Whatever the plot is :$) **

**You know what they say folks! "A review a day keeps the monsters away!" …too cheesy? I THINK NOT! *grins* Review..please! : )**


	5. BIG Mistake!

**Aww! Thanks for all the awesome reviews everyone! : D U guys are amazing! : )**

**Annabeth's POV**

I read Daedalus' plans on my laptop, but I knew for a fact that confusing me even more would NOT help.

I shove away the laptop, and bury my fingers underneath my hair in frustration.

My arm twitches, and I stare at the computer; _should I really see what it's about?_

Oh to hell with it! I didn't care about how I felt; I just wanted to see what was going on.

I rapidly log into my Facebook account, and I go to Pheme's blog:

_Monday, October 18, 2010;_

_So, I__ bet that you're wondering how the Camp's famous Couple's doing? Well…I'm not! It turns out that Percy has been pacing around his Cabin all day long! Then, when not getting the stress out of his system, he had run to the beach to cool off! Oh, poor Percy! Well, don't get too sympathetic! Maybe this love battle's turned into a love TRIANGLE? Hate to leave you hanging folks, but I'll update soon on WHO this mysterious person is! Care to take a guess? Xoxo. –The Pheme-ster. _

My heart pounds as I scroll down.

My breath catches when I see a girl kissing Percy.

Kissing. Percy.

Kissing. MY. Seaweed Brain.

I shake my head and sigh. _A little too obsessive Annabeth? _

But I can't help it. I realized what this was perfectly saying; Annabeth is a little devastated love struck puppy, and everyone would be talking about Percy's 'betrayal'.

I snort. We didn't even start off in a relationship in the first place! …I knew that I have to set this right before anyone starts throwing _pity looks_ my way.

I march over to the Percy Cabin, and I knock on the door loudly, clutching my printed page of the blog in my hand.

Percy opens the door, in his blue pajamas and I literally choke up on his cuteness.

His hair is sticking out from every side, and I resist the temptation to smooth his hair down.

He stares at me bleary eyed. "Is this _another_ dream? Why are you torturing me Aphrodite?"

I gawk at him. "Y-you've been dreaming about me?" I'm a little flattered, and also relieved; I thought I was the only one Aphrodite was playing with…I had dreams of him too.

"Oh- and I'm _defiantly_ not a dream." I'm your worst nightmare…I think to myself.

Percy turns deathly red, and I'm a little concerned for him.

"I really don't care if you dream of me or not Percy." –but I still can't help the tickling thrill go up my spine- "But I just want to know what the hell _this_ is."

I throw the paper at him, and he quickly reads it, his eyes growing wider and wider.

"Oh my Gods. I think we have a personal stalker Annabeth. I swear-"

"NO! There is NO _we_ in this Percy! It's just _you_ now! I don't- I don't want to be in this little dramatic web that Pheme's spinning." I cross my arms over my chest to stop from shaking, and I stare at Percy, unmoving.

Percy is trying to take this in. "Your-your _leaving _me?"

I have to laugh at that. It was either laugh, or breakdown crying…I'd rather choose laugh.

I shake my head, smiling sadly. "We _never_ were together Percy. What makes you think we ever were?"

Percy looks like this is some sick joke. "Well, Pheme's blog and every-"

"Are you HONESTLY saying that you want us together _based on Pheme's BLOG?_"

I can't believe him. I can't believe this. I can't believe MYSELF.

I laugh a cruel, evil laugh. "Gods I hate you Percy. You make me forget about everything that's important. Back to what I originally was here for; who is that girl?"

Percy seems to ignore my question, or choose to not respond.

"No Annabeth." He whispers, and my lips tremble.

"What?"

"I said no. I don't make you forget everything that's important. I make you forget everything that's _not_ important. The most important thing to me is you. Me. Us, together."

I sigh, resigned. "Oh Seaweed Brain, if it were only that easy. I can't be with you."

I gently put my arms over his tense shoulders, but he pulls back, his face angry.

"Why? Why are you doing this? Why do you want to hurt me after you've known that you made me fall for you this hard?" He whispers, choking with hurt and anger.

I heave a shuddering breath; a confused tear slips from my face.

I shake my head. "No Percy." I shaking and my legs feel weak, but I'm not sad…just numb.

"No." I repeat myself. "I'm not doing anything to you. How do you think that _I_ feel? How do you think I felt seeing that picture? _It broke my heart_. What do you think I'm supposed to assume? It was all a big mistake? I can't really see how Percy. Did you by accidentally fall on her? Or why was her finger buried into your hair? No Percy. I'm doing the right thing, and I _know_ this –whatever _this is_- isn't going to work between us."

I stand there, taking in deep breaths.

Percy turns to glower at me. "So you don't trust me Annabeth?"

I shake my head, my throat top dry to speak. "Percy, I've looked at it in every possible explanation. I don't mind, really! I think its good you're finding someone you really love." MY voice cracks and breaks at the last parts.

I could feel a few tears coming, and I don't want Percy to see.

"I have to go. Bye Percy." Without another word, I turn around and slam the door, running to my cabin.

Why am I acting like some sort of weepy lady in those romantic chick-flicks? Why am I so _miserable _that I left?

I barely had time to answer my questions, and I stop when I see Rachel pacing at the front door of the Athena Cabin.

"Rach! What are you doing here?" I was really glad to see her; for the first time ever, I wanted to talk about what happened, and not curl up in my bed.

Rachel stared at me, alarmed. "Have you read the blog yet?"

I nod slowly, a tear slipping down my check. "Yeah. I did. But don't worry-I took care of everything!"

I expected her to say something comforting like; _The only reason he isn't confessing that he likes you is because he's gay Annabeth! You don't need someone who's too afraid to walk out of the closet! _Or _Who cares what people think! There's a lot of people out there in the world, and Percy just isn't right for you! _

But instead, she just gapes at me. "What do you mean 'you took care of everything'?

I blush at her accusation. "I didn't _KILL _him! I just set things right between us! I guess you can say…I dumped him?" I sniff and look away, pretending to be cool with it, when inside I'm a hollow shell.

"He said that he thought we were together based on Pheme's blog! Can you believe that?"

"ANNABETH YOU MORON!" Thunder booms in the sky and Rachel glares.

"Ex-excuse ME?"

"Yeah! That's right! I can't believe that you'd do that! First you say that you're angry Percy's swallowing up every word of the blog, but you're just being a hypocrite! DO you actually think that Pheme was telling the TRUTH?"

I eye her, a cold, unsettling weight settling onto my shoulders.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh for Zeus' Sake!" She whips out her phone, and goes to _Videos_, and thrusts it in my face.

I blink.

At first it's her and…NICO? They were laughing and suddenly they were kissing-

"Oh! Let me forward that…" Rachel mutters, her face is the same color as her hair.

She handed the phone back to me, and I see Percy running to the beach, breathing hard.

The camera zooms into Nico, who shoots Rachel a confused face, and then the camera focuses on Percy.

He stands there for about 5 minutes, until the girl –who I _still_ can't see comes up to him.

She puts a hand around his waist, but he uncomfortably shrugs it off, shaking his head.

She then quickly shakes her head, and presses her finger to his lips, and leans in…

She forcefully presses her lips against Percy, and he struggles to get her off.

Then, while he was busy and blinded, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of them lip-locking from behind.

At last Percy was freed, and he had pushed her a little too hard—she fell onto her bottom.

He said something to her –I couldn't hear over Nico and Rachel's voices-, but it got her angry, and she pointed a threatening finger at him.

She got up and walked away, looking satisfied, while Percy was baffled.

The video ended, and went blank.

I give it back to Rachel with a shaking hand, staring at her with numb pain.

"I had no idea" I whisper.

She shakes her head, and manages a tiny smile. "It's ok, it'll be fine." And she shushes me with a hug.

I lean my head onto Rachel's shoulder, filled with regret and guilt.

_What have I done?_

**Hey everyone! I was suppose to post this chapter LAST night, and I only had about a sentence left to finish, but my mom comes in and tells me that it's a school night and blah blah blah T_T Too keep it simple, I couldn't update it! : O**

**I'll attempt to publish today's chapter too! ; )**

**Reviewsss! : )**


	6. Silent Truce

**Once again…THANKYOU EVERYONE for your reviews! : ) You guys are pretty awesome xD**

**Percy's POV**

I can't believe it.

I can't believe that she didn't believe me!

I'm furiously pacing around the cabin, super ticked-off and depressed.

_Click. Flash. _

I jerk up at the flash of a camera, and I see a rustling in the bushes.

You've gotta be kidding me.

"HEY!" The person jumps out of the bushes, and runs away.

I sprint after the prick, but they out ran me…and I suddenly realize there's someone a few feet away from me, and I try to stop running but…

"OW!" I slammed head-first into Annabeth –out of all people- and tackle her to the ground.

"Damn it Percy, _what is wrong with you_?" She's clutching her leg, groaning.

I momentarily forget my anger to her, and I quickly crawl to her side, gently pulling her leg into my view.

She screams in pain, and I take a quick step back. "I think its badly broken Annabeth…I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up."

I sort of pull her up, and put her arm over my shoulder, but she shakes her head wildly, tears brimming in her eyes.

"It hurts too much" she whimpered, and I can see this is killing her. She fell pretty badly, and the bone was literally visible, sticking out of proportion.

"I'll carry you." I sweep Annabeth's legs with tender hands, and she leans her head onto my shoulder, eyes closed, struggling to put up a brave front.

I walk quickly, not jostling Annabeth the whole way to the Big House; I hated seeing her in pain.

I see Will Solace, and I shout for him to come over.

I have a flashback of when we were saving Olympus last year; Will was the one who had saved Annabeth from dying from her gruesomely poisoned sword-wound.

Will stares at us, and backs away a little. I gap at him.

"WILL! ANNABETH'S HURT! WE NEED YOUR HELP!" I scream, and Annabeth shifts slightly, softly struggling to keep silent and not let her pain show.

His hesitation flickers, and he looks around wildly, making sure no one was there, and hurried over to us.

"Oh Gods" he muttered under his breath when he sees the sickening shape of Annabeth's leg.

"Why were you about to run away?" I demand, as Will sets down his bag, and inspects the damage.

He darts a glance at me, and I see weary guilt in his eyes.

"Well, no one really wants to be seen with you guys, with the whole blog and all that…"

"SO? Annabeth's hurt, and you'd still walk away from that? What kind of coward are-"

"Well I didn't run away Percy." Will cut me off in a booming voice that echoed.

"I stayed, does mean enough to you? Or do I have to get onto my knees and beg for you not to be pissed off at me?"

He sneered at me, quickly muttering a prayer under his breath, and Annabeth's leg magically healed.

She tried to muster her gratitude, but he quickly slung his bag over his shoulder, fast walking- I swear I thought it looked as if he was running- away from us.

I stared helplessly at him. Will was a nice guy…why the sudden change? I was seriously sick of the stupid blog.

I look down at Annabeth, who was struggling to comprehend everyone's attitude towards us.

I pull her up, and we stare at each other; we made a silent truce of peace.

"I'm sorry" she whispers, closing her eyes as a tear leaks out.

I wipe it away, and sigh. "It's ok. We'll be fine."

She smirks, and I know she's mentally rolling her eyes at my pathetic lie.

"At least we have each other, right?" She lowers her voice, and says it like a question, as if she's not sure that I'm ok with her.

I pause, staring at her tense figure with amazement. She _still_ doesn't know how I feel about her? After all we've been through?

"You'll _always_ have me, silly." I press my forehead to hers, and she smiles, a smile that makes me angry; she doesn't deserve any of the things she's been through.

Running away from home at the age of 7, loneliness, witnessing the deaths of her friends…it's all too much for me.

"Come on", I whisper, and I taker her hand in mine.

She stumbles along behind me, her feet perfectly healed. "Where are we going, Seaweed Brain?"

Seaweed Brain. The way she said it sounded as if I was still _only _her friend. Gods, I knew from the beginning that that name was going to be the death of me.

"We're going to see Pheme. I've had enough of this." I mutter, a little stung by the whole Seaweed Brain thing.

I vaguely heard Annabeth gulp. ***********************************************************************

We enter the Big House, and we immediately see Pheme, leafing through a magazine.

"PHEME" I call her, louder than necessary.

She gives a little jump, and pales a little when she sees us, but then smirks, pulling out that tape recorder.

She walks over, recorder positioned in hand.

"Hey guys. How are the Camp's two lovebird's doin'?"

She waves the recorder in our faces, taunting us.

I've had enough of this.

I grab the recorder away from her, and I throw it to the ground, expecting it to break into pieces.

It doesn't. I frown at her smirking expression, but she immediately goes all puppy-eyed.

"Oh no Percy! Please don't break my recorder! I can't do anything without it!"

"Exactly." I take her recorder, and I put it into my pocket, and I walk away, with Annabeth in tow.

Just then, I felt a strange feeling in my pocket, and the recorder was gone.

I whirl around to see Pheme holding it, that stupid smirk still on her face.

"I told you before didn't I? I _never_ give up on a project of mine. You guys just have to get use to being famous."

"You mean infamous! Pheme, this has gone too far! No one in Camp wants to be seen with us, thinking they'll be caught on your blog. The blog and especially the picture taking has to stop. NOW."

Annabeth was seething, her fists clenched in a fiery wrath.

Pheme stares at us for a moment, eyebrows slightly raised in amusement.

"Annabeth, you guys are angry at me for _'snooping'_? Just to make this clear; I'm not a 'stalkerazzi'."

She thinks about this for a moment, and breaks into an incredulous laugh. "Me? Snooping? Oh Gods, you got your fact wrong." She shakes her head, her hair flying.

Annabeth gives me a blank stare.

"Then who was taking the pictures?" I ask, a little impatient.

"I can help you with that, Percy" Says a female voice from behind us.

I slowly turn to see the pretty brunette who had kissed me, who was now leaning coolly on the doorway, giving me an impish smile.

"What do you want?" Annabeth scoffs and a part of me wonders how they knew each other.

"Annabeth, for a kid of Athena's…your pretty stupid. You know what I want."

The brunette's eyes stay trained on me, and for the first time ever, I'm a little intimidated by an Aphrodite girl.

**Nooo! Sorry I haven't updated in a while **** I had a bunch of exams and tests and assignments, and I was stuck in my room drowning in the mass of textbooks :O I hope you liked this chapter! **

**Reviews are very much appreciated! ; ) **


	7. Get OUT!

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone who reviewed!*Victory dance* I'll make sure that when this story ends –hopefully not too soon- I'll add a list of all my most awesomest reviewers in gratitude for sharing your opinion! ;) **

**Annabeth's POV**

I bite back a groan.

It's that stupid Aphrodite chick (whatever her name is) that was behind all this!

Well, I sort of knew from the beginning. I mean, I knew I had to expect _something_ after the "talk" –more like ambush- she had with me.

"_We're just warning you to not get involved because you obviously don't deserve him." _**(Chapter 2 reference ;D)**

I tune back into what was going on.

"So _who_ are you, again?" Percy asks, obviously uncomfortable.

The brunette glances at Pheme, who is rapidly whispering into her recorder, her eyes flashing with excitement.

She grabs Percy's hand. "Come on, we'll talk outside." She gives me a cold stare, before nodding for me to follow as well.

My eyes stay trained on her holding Percy's hand, and I turn to glare at him.

Son of Hades! He's–like any other normal teenage boy, I suppose- practically enjoying all this; two girls fighting fiercely for him.

_Oh my Gods._ Is that what I'm doing? _Fighting_ for him? I stretched out my stiff shoulders, anxious to hear out what she wanted.

She drags us to a small clearing that's in between the cabins and the Arena. It's a really busy spot, and a bunch of other demigods look or way with interest…the whole Camp probably reads the blog, and knows what's going on.

The brunette takes a deep breath, and turns around to face us, still holding Percy's hand.

I look around self consciously, and I see people staring at me, wondering how I'd react to the whole hand-holding thing.

I jerk my head up defiantly, and I stare her down, placing my hands on my hips.

"Who are you?"

Her eyes flicker up and down me, her lips curling with fake disgust.

"My name's Audrey Mars. I'm the head counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin…and there isn't much else that you need to know about me." She smirked, as if she was having a private joke.

"Ok—so back to the point. Why are you taking pictures of Percy and me?" I sort of haul Percy over to me, and I clutch his arm, my face flaming.

Her eyes flash, and she tosses her hair behind her with a quick tilt of her head.

"Well" she tries to take Percy away from me, by putting her hands on his shoulder, pulling him to her. My arms stay rigidly looped around his arms, and she sort of gives up on tugging at Percy.

It's a little awkward; we're both standing there, sort of tugging on Percy.

"Well…" she continues again, louder this time. "I'm just gonna be straight with you. I want Percy. And, I know he wants me too."

My blood boils and sizzles under my skin, and Percy's staring at her with his mouth dropped open.

She laughs at me while my mind scrambles to respond to that.

"Well…well you must be delusional! Percy loves ME!" Why must I sound like a 5 year old?

At that moment, salvation comes along…in the unlikely form of Travis Stoll.

"Yo Perce! You got TWO of the hottest chicks in Camp fighting over your wimpy butt? Woah…even the Camp's resident prude, Ms. Annabeth Chase is going gaga for you!"

He laughs, and bumps fists with Percy, who couldn't help but grin.

"What is WRONG with you guys?" I shout. Couldn't they see what a psycho this girl was? And wait…I'm NOT a prude...Travis is just _begging_ for a beat down.

Instead, I bite my tongue and storm away.

"What's wrong Anna_-bell_? Too much competition for you to handle?"

I hear Audrey laugh behind me, and I stop and turn around.

She's clutching onto Percy's arm, nuzzling him.

He looks like he wants to follow me, but he's being swarmed with those awful teenage guys all giving him their compliments on what a "player" he was.

Percy? My dorky Seaweed Brain? A player? …No way. But I can't help looking back at him, and seeing him through another girls eyes.

His hair is a little spiked up; his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he wears jeans that bag down the front. He also has a New York hat on, a little tilted to the side.

He laughs with self-confidence, and has a merrily mischievous glint in his eyes.

Huh. Maybe whenever I see Percy…I picture him as the little 12 year old that would turn red at the slightest words, and was so adorably geeky.

There's a BIG difference between the 12 year old pre-teen he once was and a 17 year-old teenager that he is now.

I turn away from their chatter, sad, missing my childhood.

******Later that day***********

I've been working my butt off at the Arena, pretending that the dummies I sliced were all Audrey.

You'd think I would be over-dramatic about a girl I met merely hours ago…but honestly I wasn't. She was seriously evil, and I can see through her puppy-dog face.

The Arena was covered with bits of straw and dirt…and so was I.

I stare at my watch; Dinner's a half an hour away…I figure that I had enough time for a quick shower before I ate.

Running to my cabin, I peel off my grass-stained clothes, grab my towel, and I head for the shower.

The steaming hot water relaxes all my tense muscles, and I just stand there, my head tilted, enjoying the relaxing sensation.

Finally, I figure that it's time to get ready for dinner.

I reach for my towel…

…and all I grab was air.

_My towel wasn't there!_

I look around wildly, and I can't find my clothes either! _Deep breaths Annabeth; In-two-three, Out-two-three, In-two-three, Out-two-three. _

Then, I peak out of the bathroom, hoping to find someone from my cabin willing to bring me my clothes from my closet.

No one I really knew was there; only a bunch of Camp newbies who idled Audrey.

"Hey!" I whisper, embarrassed.

They stop talking, and stare at me coolly.

"What do you want?" One leans back, crossing her arms.

"I…um…need you to grab my clothes from my closet...please?"

The girls burst into laughter, and they whip out their cell phones, calling their friends.

"Oh my God! That Anna-bell girl is stuck in the bathroom…_in her birthday suit!_" They start cackling like harpies.

My cheeks turn red, and I slam the door, and lean back against it, shivering.

I stare at the foggy clock in the bathroom…dinner was going to start in 5 minutes! And it was MY responsibility to lead the cabin to lunch!

I groan, feeling colder than ever, and I slink to the ground.

10 minutes, 20 minutes…it's been half an hour.

I peek outside for the millionth time, and _finally _the coast was clear.

Cautiously, I tiptoe out of the bathroom, and sprint to my closet, where I knew I'd find my super warm towel and clothes.

When I opened my closet I found…nothing.

Whoever –most definitely Audrey- did this; they had not only taken my towel from the bathroom…but had taken everything else that I had as well!

My eyes sprung with frustrated tears. This wasn't fair! What did I do wrong? Is it that bad to have a first crush on your best friend?

I look around for something warm…_anything_ warm…when suddenly the door knob turns.

I glance down at my bare body, too frozen in shock to actually move.

The door opens, and Percy hesitantly steps into the room.

"Hey Annabeth? Are you in here? I didn't see you at—OH MY GODS!"

I scream, and Percy screams, and I wasn't sure why no one else had come rushing down, wondering who had died because of the noise.

I attempt to cover myself at first, humiliated. Then, I felt angry. What was he doing here anyways?

Shouldn't he be letting Audrey nuzzle all over him like she did this afternoon?

I stalk over to him, not caring any more.

His eyes boring deeply at the ceiling, his face a volcano red color.

"I swear to the Gods, Annabeth! I didn't mean to walk in on you! I mean, it's as horrifying for you as it is for me. No-Wait! I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I guess I liked what I saw but I don't mean it—I can explain…it's just…I just…well, you know…OWWWW!"

Percy kept rambling on and on, stuttering the whole way. The more he said the angrier and embarrassed I felt.

His eyes were still on the ceiling while he blabbered on. And…I couldn't contain my rage any longer…I had punched him straight across the jaw.

Well, I bet any one else would do it too...I think.

Percy stumbles back, staring at my face –thankfully, I noticed he was only staring at my face- with shock, embarrassment, and guilty glee.

"GET OUT!" I bellow, as soon as he cracks an uncertain grin that says "_this is sort of funny, in a sick way, right? Don't you see the humor in this? "_

I shove him out of the cabin, my face deathly red, and I slam the door.

Behind the door, I see a stash of clothes –my clothes- all messy and bundled up in a garbage bag, quickly buried away.

I groan, sinking back to the floor, covering my face with my hands.

Usually when I think of Camp being dangerous, I think of quests and monster and stuff.

But, I have a feeling that after this summer…I'd be thinking that Camp can be _dangerously traumatizing._

**Yaay, Done this chapter : ) I decided to have a…twist… to it x) **

**Anyways, sorry I haven't updated in a while; my grandma's staying over for two weeks at the house, so me –being the most awesomest host ever- didn't want her to feel bored or lonely, so I gave her all my undivided attention *apologizes, and weeps to my fanfiction story* so it MAY take me some time to do my chapters ; ) **

**REVIEWSSSSS! :D Tell me watcha think of this chapter! Love it? Like it? …I'm praying to the Gods that you don't hate it *Tear*! : D **


	8. No! Not THIS!

**HI EVERYONE! Thanks for all your VERY UBER AWESOME reviews! :D You guys broke the record of reviews I had per chapter! xD Sa-weet! ;) **

**Sorry I didn't update in a LONG time! (A week) **

**My brother was over for the Halloween weekend, and it was basically how we spent the days back when we were kids:**

**Me: Can I go on the computer?**

**Him: *Stares at the screen* No.**

**Me: But I have to write my Faaaan Fictioonn stooory! *whines***

**Him: *Ignores me* **

**And then I leave….. And an evil threat to my brother; If you're reading this you better tell me, so I can pulverize you when you come back for the Christmas Break!**

**THANKS AGAIN FOR THE REVIEWS! :)*Smiles***

**P.S. How was every ones Halloween?(It was 2 days ago) :) I hope it was good! ;) **

**Percy's POV**

I'm hyperventilating.

I'm at the beach, pretty much using the sea as a normal human being would use a brown paper bag for hyperventilation.

I just saw Annabeth. _Nak_-NO! I shouldn't even _think _about it!

I really don't know what I'm supposed to do! Am I supposed to apologize to Annabeth...Wait. That probably means getting sucker punched in the face again.

Not the most perfect way to gain back her trust.

In those cheesy chick flicks that I've watched in the past –I was forced to watch them!-, a girl usually talks to her friends about these kinds of things, and it makes everything better.

That's pretty stupid, in my opinion.

Well, from a guy's view, I'm guessing it is.

I have a ridiculous image of me telling Travis Stoll what had happened –while breaking down in tears just like in those sappy chick-flicks- and then he gives me a hug, and then points out good advice.

I snort. If I ever tell Travis what really happened…I don't want to think about that. Let's just say it wouldn't be like any of those girly movies.

*****Later, after Percy just sits in his Cabin, unsure of where to go, while sulking about the weirdness of everything that's been happening with him and Annabeth********

I enter the Dining Pavilion, and I take my usual seat at the Poseidon Table.

Just then, Audrey gets up from her table, and walks over to mine.

"Hey Seaweed Brain! Mind if I sit here?" She plops down beside me, without even waiting for permission.

"WAIT! What did you just call me?" My mouth drops.

She flips back her thick brown hair, and stares back at me.

I shiver. Her eyes are almost a violet shade, a shade that I recognize; a shade of Aphrodite's eyes.

"Well, I guess that you have no choice, and you _have to _let me be with you." She toyed with her expensive cell phone.

"Wait-what?" I shake my head, confused.

She sighs impatiently, and opens up her cell phone, rapidly searching until she stops, and turns back to me, smiling sweetly.

"You better be more cautious Sea-weed Brain." She whispers, leaning over to me, holding out her phone.

On the phone was a picture of me and Annabeth….back at her cabin just hours ago.

All you see in the picture is my back, but the picture _clearly _shows Annabeth…I quickly avert my eyes again, my face flaming.

"What do you want?" I croak, seeing an imaginary flashing danger sign above Audrey's head.

"Percy…how do you think Annabeth would feel if I send this to Pheme, so the _whole, entire _Camp could see?"

I already knew the answer to that; Annabeth would be mortified! I didn't want Annabeth to go through all that; I knew what I had to do.

"What do you want?" I ask again, impatiently, fuming with anger.

Just then, Annabeth comes in, her face still a little red.

She stops dead when she sees Audrey sitting beside me, and then she narrows her eyes.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Annabeth hisses, setting aside her bag, and putting her hands on her hips.

Audrey has a stupid grin on her face. She stands up, making a big noise. Everyone in the Pavilion goes quiet, wondering what she would say.

"If you're still angry about what I did before…I'm sorry!" She's giving Annabeth that sweetly EVIL smile she gave me.

"I know everyone's still waiting for Pheme to update her blog," she says louder. All conversations halt, and people lean in to hear what she has to say. "But I'm sure everyone would _LOVE_ an inside scoop about what I have to announce!"

The room rustles with excitement; how could people love Camp gossip this much?

I finally meet Annabeth's eyes; she staring at Audrey cautiously; she has no idea what to expect.

Rachel, Grover, and Nico stand behind Annabeth. I see Rachel put a protective arm around Annabeth's waist.

I can't take this; I don't want to hear what Audrey's about to say. I don't want Annabeth to get hurt. I don't want to be talked about by the whole Camp. I DON'T want Audrey and Pheme to exist.

I quickly hurry over to Annabeth, wanting to pull her out of the room before Audrey speaks.

Just as I made it to my friends, Audrey speaks again, sending my heart pummeling down into my stomach.

"PERCY JACKSON JUST MADE ME HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND!" She cheered, laughing happily.

I stop and stare at her, horrified.

NO! Not _this_! She's NOT my girlfriend!

My mind flashes back to her photo of Annabeth on Audrey's phone…and I knew that I couldn't decline what she said.

Audrey rambles on. "Yeah! To those of you who guessed that it was _me_ who kissed Percy in the picture…you're right! Percy just told me in private that he's sick of that geeky, undeserving, spoiled, angry little girl who you all know…Annabeth Chase!"

I can feel Annabeth staring at me, but I keep my eyes trained on the ground…I don't want to see her expression.

"Anyways, Annabeth wasn't just that satisfying you know? Luckily I'm an expert at that sort of stuff" She winked, earning hoots and applause and laughter from all around.

One of Audrey's little minions started chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Until everyone started saying that.

Audrey strode confidently to me, and leaned in, grasping the back of my head with surprising strength.

"You don't want to traumatize her, right?" She whispered tauntingly.

I stare at Audrey, horrified. Just then, she pulled me to herself with a sick smile, and gave me a long kiss.

She slipped her tongue into my mouth, sort of slobbering all over me, and I forced myself not to barf on her.

With Annabeth, our first kiss was sweet and gentle…this kiss basically said two things; dirty and trampy.

When she let me go, everyone cheered and wolf-whistled.

I could feel Annabeth's stare boring into my face again, but I was suddenly interested in fiddling with my fingers.

I needed time to think! This was happening too fast!

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Annabeth bolt out of the room.

**Annabeth's POV**

My breathing's ragged and splintered as I force myself to breathe. _In-two-three, Out-two-tree, In-two-three, Out-two-tree._

I feel Rachel's arms tighten around me.

"Go." She whispered, glaring furiously at Percy. I nod, feeling the waterworks coming because of people's laughter, and I flee.

******Outside******

I sit next to Thalia's Pine, wishing more than ever that she would be here.

I smiled through my tears, putting together little images of how Thalia would probably give Audrey a good shocking if she were here.

I place my hand on the bark of her tree, trying to avoid the fact that Percy hasn't even come back to say that he's sorry.

What did he mean? I think back to what Audrey had said; _Percy just told me in private that he's sick of that geeky, undeserving, spoiled, angry little girl who you all know…Annabeth Chase!_

I frown. That doesn't sound right at ALL. But who am I to know?

My feelings are getting in the way of my common sense…Gods, this is frustrating!

"I miss you, Thal" I whimper, scooting closer to the tree, letting a tear slide down my cheek.

"Hey! What's with the mush, little sis?" I hear a VERY familiar voice call out.

My heart contracts as I turn around.

**I know this isn't much…Sorry for that! :( **

**Ahahahaa, to all those of you who've said "KILL AUDREY" ….sorry folks! :O That can't happen just yet! xD A little too early to cut out a character ;)**

**So what do you guys think of this chapter; was it a good idea to add Thalia Grace back into my story? I'm honestly not sure .**

**Reviews…please? :) I'll give you a virtual cookie if you review! :D**

**AND I'll attempt to update quicker! ;)**

**Thanks again for all your reviews form the last chapter! : )**

**Ok now I feel guilty…I shouldn't be asking you guys for this stuff….free virtual cookies for everyone! *Steals a Santa suit, and throws virtual cookies at you shouting 'HO HO HO'* xD Ok…I'll stop rambling now ;)**


	9. Are you Delusional!

**OHMYGODS. OHMYGODS. OHMYGODS. OHMYGODS. OHMYGODS. OHMYGODS! THANKYOU EVERYONE! This story just passed 100 reviews! :D :D :D *Does the crazy dance the old guy does in the 6-flags commercial* EVEN THOUGH….I find that old guy from the "6 Flags" commercial a LITTLE creepy 0_o THANKS AGAIN-you guys are SERIOUSLY awesome! xD And by the way-I love how almost all the reviews for last chapter were all "Death-To-Audrey" related xD**

**Annabeth's POV**

"THALIA!" I scream, hastily wiping my tears away as I run to her.

She laughs as I crash into her with a tackling hug, barely loosing her footing.

"Annabeth! Gods, you're getting older…and heavier!" She groaned, and then laughed again to show she was just joking about the 'heavy' part.

I felt so gleeful and giddy at seeing her, that I momentarily forgot about Percy.

She ruffles my hair. "How's the Kelp Head doing?"

"…Thalia…" A flash of anger hits me like lightning and I turn away from her, crossing my arms.

"Annabeth? What's wrong? What happened? Is Percy ok?" She tugs on my arm urgently, and turns me to face her again.

I take a deep breath, and I close my eyes.

**Percy's POV**

I'm sitting on a bench next to Audrey, sipping diet coke.

I'm oddly calm; I can always apologize to Annabeth later, and explain the threat to her private.

"Percy? Hello? Come on Seaweed Brain, wakey wakey!" I feel a tug at my arm, and I momentarily think that it's Annabeth.

"Annabeth! Quit it!" I laugh, pulling my arm away.

Everyone at the table goes quiet, as Audrey pales.

"What?" She snaps, pulling out a confused face, but I see the evil anger flash in her eyes.

"Kidding!" I laugh nervously. I can see that no one buys it, but Audrey pretends to.

"That wasn't funny Percy!" She sniffed, and then snuggled into me. Does this girl have split-personality or something?

"I think you should say sorry for that cruel joke, Percy!" One of Audrey's friends leered.

I couldn't remember her name; in the last 10 minutes I've been introduced to more than 50 new people.

"It's alright! He doesn't have to" Audrey smiled, nuzzling into my neck.

"No! He should apologize!" Another girl demanded, grinning.

"Umm…I'm sorry?" I look down at Audrey, a little confused at her annoyance.

"Percy-they want you to kiss me." She hissed, clearly irritated with me.

Gods, how was I supposed to know that?

I hesitantly lean into Audrey, and I kiss her softly…just playing it up so she doesn't have to snap at me again.

As I pulled away, she clutched my hair and pressed into me harder.

All the girls there cheered and whooped, but now I was _really_ trying to push her away.

I guess she pretended to think I was being 'aggressively passionate' since she kissed me back harder, and wrapped her legs around my waist.

My eyes pop open, and I see Grover, Nico, and the Stoll brothers staring at me.

Nico looked sick, Grover was just shaking his head with disbelief, and the Stoll brothers were dying of laughter.

I could probably see myself how my friends were looking at me just then; some innocent school boy being molested; what happened to good ol' player Percy? The cool kid who everyone liked?

Just then, their faces all changed one by one to anxiety, nervousness, and anticipation.

I guess Audrey noticed the hush that fell over the room, since she pulled away, her face smug and red.

As I looked around, I can face-to-face with Thalia, who jabbed a fist into my stomach, making me fall to the ground, still twitching from the electric shock.

"THALIA! STOP!" Annabeth ran into the room, her eyes and nose rimmed red.

I stared up at Thalia; even though she punched me…I was still strangely happy to see her.

"What are you going to do? Shock me?" Audrey sneered, placing her hands on her hips.

All the other girls shrank back, giving Thalia a venomous glare.

"Thalia, _please STOP!" _Annabeth begged. "I really don't care about these two!"

She glanced at Audrey, and then her face hardened when she looked at me.

"Wait! Annabeth what are you talking about? Why are you angry at me?" Oops. That was a stupid thing to say…

"Are you KIDDING me?" Thalia screeched, whirling around to stare at me.

"Calm down" Audrey snapped. "There's no need for all the drama."

"Stress can make you break out too!" cried one of the other million friends of Audrey.

"Oh no!" Thalia mockingly cried. She turned towards Audrey. "You're Audrey Mars? I haven't even met you before…but Annabeth's been telling me about how her year is going…and I see that you're the cause of all _her_ unnecessary drama?"

Audrey turned towards Annabeth, and smirked.

"I got you all upset and whiny? Good, that just what I wanted from you. It's basically for my personal entertainment. Except the Percy part-don't think that I didn't see you standing there, looking all crushed when MY boyfriend kissed me just now."

I stared at Audrey with open disgust. She set up the whole thing just so Annabeth could get even MORE hurt?

"And" Audrey continued, turning her smirk towards Thalia. "Your Zeus' kid, right? The one who was stuck in a tree for a gazillion years? What does that make you? Some sort of chipmunk? You sure look like one, with those two front teeth of yours!"

Thalia gave her a plain stare back. "That's the lamest thing that you can ever say." She pointed out. "Well, I guess that I shouldn't be surprised."

Audrey sniffed. "Wow. You are _such_ a fake! You may seem all fiery and passionate on the outside, but on the inside you're an emotional rock. You're the spitting image of what someone from Artemis' really is; ugly on the outside AND inside, dull, and oh-try getting this in your empty head-No one likes you. Your dad doesn't, your mom never did, and oh _please_! The whole crush you had on Luke? That's just a joke if you think that he'd like you back. Just look at you; you couldn't spit out love even if you wanted to."

Thalia sort of made a growling noise, and lunged for Audrey.

People screamed and backed away, knocking things over in process.

Annabeth ran forward, trying to pull Thalia back, but she was too fast.

I knew how strong Thalia was…and I knew she would pulverize the living day-lights out of Audrey…well, I can't say that I don't mind…but I didn't think it was too fair for Audrey either.

"THALIA! NO!" I tackle Thalia to the ground, getting some serious high voltage tremble through me.

By the time I recovered from jerking and twitching on the ground, I swear I was steaming smoke.

Thalia was panting angrily as she got up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Percy?" She shouted.

"I'm sorry! But, I just couldn't stand there, and I wasn't thinking…"

"When do you ever?" Annabeth was trembling, looking like she was going to collapse from all the tension.

"Annabeth, _please!_ Just let me explain!" I got up to my feet, and took a step forward, in her direction.

She took an automatic step back, and pressed herself against the wall, shaking her head.

"Percy, _what is WRONG with you!_ I'm your girlfriend! And I almost got attacked! You should be comforting ME!" Audrey shrieked.

"Shut it! If it wasn't for him, I would have beaten the crap out of you!" Thalia turned and gave me her death glare. "Which is why I'm pretty pissed off, and I'd like to have a word with Percy as well." Her fingers twitched, and I can tell that I was going to get the electric chair from her.

I couldn't think! My mind wasn't reeling in fast enough! So I simply closed my eyes and stupidly hoped everything would be ok.

"Percy…" Annabeth mumbled.

"Percy!" Audrey snapped.

"PERCY!" Thalia growled.

"This must suck for him" Travis muttered, and the guys all around nodded, watching wide eyed.

All 3 of them were calling me; if I went to Annabeth, Audrey would show the Camp that humiliating picture of Annabeth, and Thalia would probably punch me.

If I went to Thalia, Annabeth would probably ignore me and be depressed, and Audrey would still show everyone the picture of Annabeth…and Thalia would still probably punch me.

If I went to Audrey, Annabeth would never EVER talk to me ever again, and would probably be VERY depressed and pissed off, and Thalia would probably kill me in my sleep.

"You know what…Just forget it." Annabeth whispered. She hung her head down low, so her blonde curls would tumble into her face, not allowing anyone to see her expression.

"Annabeth!" Thalia called, softening up. Annabeth ignore her, and silently turned to the crowd, who parted an opening immediately and closed up after she left.

Thalia turned her ice-cold-Medusa glare back at Audrey.

"Prissy here might not be too tough to actually deal with you, but _I am._ Annabeth's like my little sister, and I'll do whatever it takes to help her."

And with that, Thalia stormed out of the Dining Pavilion, following Annabeth.

The crowd turned to stare at me and Audrey.

I have NO idea what to do. I turn and give Audrey a blank stare.

"AMAZING! FANTASTIC! THAT WAS SO…SO…WONDERFUL!" Pheme cheered, coming out of nowhere, clapping her hands like mad.

She waltzes over to us, and leaned her elbow onto my shoulder. "This is the best story of the decade probably! Oh my Gods! You guys don't know how thrilled I am!"

She actually had tears in her eyes because of this "wonderful" situation.

The crowd immediately scatters in a hurry, not wanting to be interviewed by her and her infamous recorder.

"Pheme, that's enough!" Audrey snarled. She looked pretty pissed off.

"You ok?" I ask her.

She turns to me, and stares at me with incredulous wide eyes.

"Am I ok? AM I OK? GODS—YOU—ARE—SO—STUPID!"

With each word she weakly punched me in the chest, and then stepped back, panting.

"You just humiliated me in front of everyone! You were all _over_ that Annabell—"

"It's Anna-BETH" I corrected.

She closed her eyes and screamed loudly. "I can't believe that I'm talking to my own _boyfriend _about this!"

"Err—actually, I'm not really your boyfriend…Nothings changed Audrey! I still _love_ Annabeth!"

Pheme's mouth drops open, and she quickly whispers into her recorder, all her words a blur because of the speed.

Audrey took a step back, stunned. "But-but…you said you loved _me!_ All those nights on the beach…every _kiss_, every _promise! _You're going back on it all now?"

I stared at her "What? I've only been your PRETEND boyfriend for the past _hour_! Where are you getting this stuff? And I'm only your boyfriend because you threatened me about the photo!"

Pheme's ears literally pricked up "What photo?"

"Nothing…" I muttered.

Audrey was having some sort of fit. I was pretty sure she was delusional.

"THAT'S IT. Percy, I swear by the River of Styx that I will NOT back down from this, and as long as you and Annabeth are together, I _will_ try to get my revenge."

And with that, thunder boomed overhead.

"You better watch out for your _girlfriend_, Percy. There's no telling what can happen to her" Audrey snickered darkly, and then started laughing harder and harder until tears poured down her face.

I backed away slowly, chewing nervously on the inside of my cheek, and finally when I found the doors, I pushed them open and ran to the Athena cabin.

I peek out the window, and I see Annabeth in her bed, wiping away tears. It doesn't do any good, since they keep cascading down her cheeks like an on-going waterfall.

I sigh, and press my forehead against the cabin wall.

It hurts to see her so upset, but I'm going to make it all better.

I'm going to fix everything.

And whatever I do, I'm going to keep her safe.

**Hmm….I don't know what I think of this chapter. **

**Don't worry—Thalia isn't always going to be this mean/bad ass. You know how she gets when she's angry ;)**

**As for Audrey…I guess you could sort of see her as psycho? Well, she just has a major crush on Percy, to put it lightly…:S**

**Hopefully, this chapter gives me the queue to add in more Percabeth in the next few chapters! :) **

**Review, Review, and Review…Please! :)**


	10. What is WRONG with you!

**Annabeth's POV**

_It's ok. It' ok…Just pull yourself together Annabeth!_

I heave a large breath, but it doesn't do any good; a second later I start sobbing again.

I search around blindly for tissues, so I can wipe my eyes, but I see I've used about 2 boxes worth of them in the past 15 minutes.

"_Moron_" I curse myself in Greek.

Just then, I hear a knocking at my door.

I peek out the window, and I see Percy.

"Annabeth? Hey! Annabeth? Come on, I know you're in there! Open the door."

"GO AWAY!" I muster all my strength to shout.

I see him flinch back and wince.

"Come on Annabeth. I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to see any of that."

_Is he kidding me? WHY must guys be so…so…confusing! What's with the mixed signals? _

"And tell me why wasn't I, Percy. Aren't you her—her…" I couldn't force myself to say her name, or the word _boyfriend_ out loud.

"It's not what you think Annabeth!" He started pounding on the door, knowing that he was losing me.

"Just forget it! Go away!" I scream, backing away from the door a little.

I hear a _thump_, and I can picture him leaning his head onto the door.

"Annabeth. Please? I—I _love _you. Just give me a chance to explain" he says softly.

Oh no. No no no no NO! He didn't—he _couldn't_ have dropped the "L" bomb on me right now…could he?

"Just leave me alone." I whisper, crying harder than ever. I sink back into my bed, stuffing my face into my pillow.

"Annabeth! Just…just please tell me that you'll be ok?" Percy started banging on the door again.

"I was always ok, Percy! Honestly, I don't know why I'm crying so much…" I sob, gasping a little for breath.

I wipe my never-ending tears with the back of my hands, and soon I was soaked with tears.

"Annabeth! Annabeth! Please? Open the door!"

The banging never ended, and after listening to it from my bed for about 15 minutes, I get up silently, and I sit curled up on the floor, with my back leaning against the door.

The pounding never stopped for the next half hour, but suddenly, it was quiet.

I wiped my eyes again, and hiccupped.

I waited for a few moments, and then got up onto my knees, and peeked out the window.

He wasn't there.

I finally did it. I drove everyone that I love away from me.

I curl up again, and start crying. _Honestly-crying is ok for a little while, but the amount I'm crying at is ridiculous._

**Percy's POV**

I'm banging on Annabeth's door like there's no tomorrow, screaming her name again and again and again.

She isn't giving any signs of life in there, and I can't help but panic.

Just then, hands clamp down onto my eyes, my arms, and my legs; a blindfold is thrown over my eyes and a gag tied around my mouth; _I was being abducted!_

*********Later, after the "Abductors" have taken Percy to their secret hiding spot*********

The cuffs are literally slicing at my wrists, painfully bounded.

My mouth feel's dry because of the gag, and I'm being hysterical; thrashing around, kicking; but nothing's working.

It suddenly goes quiet, and I hear voices in a hushed conversation a few feet away from me. I strain my ears to hear. This was all I caught in their conversation;

"...hell did we have to tie him up?"

"…Serious trouble…all your fault!"

"Shut up! ….seemed badass…"

"…can't believe…stupid."

That's all I heard from their private conversation, and it wasn't much.

It was literally torture sitting there, unable to move or shift for the next 15 minutes.

Just then, I heard the sound of shuffling footsteps, and the blindfold was removed from my eyes.

I see Travis & Connor Stoll, and Chris Rodriguez.

In the corner behind them, Grover and Nico were together, trying to blend into the wall.

"MMMPHHH!" Was the only thing I could say through the gag.

I started thrashing around again, angrily repeating "MMMPPHH! MMMMMMPH!"

"Percy! Dude, _relax!" _Connor says, raising his hands.

I glare at them, and I strain more.

"Ok ok ok! I'm taking off the gag." Grover moves slowly, and hesitantly takes of the gag.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING? WHEN I GET OUT OF THESE CUFF'S I SWEAR I'M GONNA-"

"We just have a couple of questions to ask you, Mr. Jackson." Connor interrupts, in a strangely calm and soothing voice.

"Questions? QUESTIONS? If you just wanted to ask me questions, then why the Hades did you tie me up, you no good-"

"ENOUGH!" Travis Stoll shouts in a surprisingly angry voice.

"What was going on in the Dining Pavilion this afternoon between Audrey and Annabeth?" He smashed his fist into the table, breathing hard and glared at me.

I stared back at him. "Umm…what's wrong with Travis?"

Nico rolls his eyes. "We just wanted to ask, you know, man-to-man about what happened…but the over-dramatic Stoll brothers wanted to do the whole 'Good-cop Bad-Cop' thing."

Travis' angry form melted and he tossed an irritated look at Nico. "_Thanks. _You just ruined the whole thing!"

I shake my head in disbelief; my friends were the strangest people on Earth, no doubt about it.

"Sooo, you gonna tell us what all this is about?" Connor plops down into the empty chair next to me, a big pleading grin on his face.

I sigh and glare at them all. "Do I really have a choice?"

"None at all" Chris flashes me an apologetic smile.

"You guys would make _great_ Aphrodite girls" I mutter under my breath.

********************Percy gives them a whole run down on what happened**********

"Hold on, hold on, hold ON!" Travis raises his hands in the air, cutting me off.

"YOU SAW ANNABETH NAK-"

"YES OK?" My face is burning red, and I look down at my shoes.

Travis sits back, his eyes distant. "Dude…you're a _God._"

He tries to fist bump me but I back away.

"NO! It wasn't intentionally! I didn't mean to! Do you think she hates me now?"

"Who cares? Give us more details on this! Hey—what about Audrey? Did she flash you too?"

"NO! What is _wrong _with you guys? What do I do now?" I bury my face into my hands.

Grover looks sympathetic. "Don't worry, Perce. Maybe there's some way to get Audrey's phone?"

I raise my head quickly, and stare at him. "You're right!"

Grover raises an eyebrow. "I wasn't being serious. I was just saying that so you would quit sulking. All these negative emotions coming from you are giving me some serious bad vibes, dude."

I shake my head, thinking hard.

"I never knew what a demon-child Audrey is" Chris shakes his head. "You can never know…"

"There's nothing wrong with being a demon-child!" Nico glares, turning away, and faces me.

"Don't worry Percy! Just sit back, and let what happens, happen. You should never mess with the Fates."

I blow out a sigh. "I think I should get back to Annabeth, and explain to her the whole threat thing."

Travis' face perks up. "Hey-now that you've said that you're not Audrey's boyfriend…do you think that she'll send the whole Camp that picture of Annabeth."

_Is he kidding me? _"Are you serious?" I stand up, glaring at him.

He raises his hands in his air. "Just a question! It was just a question!" He grinned at his brother, who grinned back.

I stare up at the ceiling, wondering if there were any water pipes inside them.

Just then, the ceiling cracked open, and a jet of water was dumped onto Travis. _Hmm…I guess there ARE pipes in there._

"DUDE!" Travis sputtered. "WHAT THE HELL?"

Chris sighed, leaning against the wall. "I guess you deserved that."

Travis glared at me, and finally shook his head. "Ok ok ok! I'll stop with the perverted jokes." He flashed me a grin, putting his hands behind his back.

"Thank you." I was about to say something to break the ice, when suddenly the door opens.

At the door –out of all people- stands Audrey.

"AUDREY! How—how long have you been here?"

She gives me an expressionless look. "Why does it matter? Were you talking about me?"

She easily jumped across the small puddle of water that Travis was soaking in, and walked up to me.

"And no—I just got here."

She scrunched her nose at my friends, giving them all a dirty look.

"Ummm" I shift around, not knowing what to do. It was hard to make casual conversation with a psychotic, obsessive girl like her. "What are you doing here?"

She turned back to me. "You're my partner for the Summer Solstice."

Me and Travis spoke at the same time.

"What?"

"Since when do we have to use the Buddy-system for the Summer Solstice?"

She glared at Travis. "It isn't a buddy system! Chiron just doesn't want anything to happen to us…thing _have_ happened in the past you know. And it the Head Counselors of each Cabin that get to go. "

She turned back to me. "Yeah, Chiron said that you have to pick a partner, and I pick you!"

I stared at her. "But I think Annabeth's my partner."

"Nope! I was the first one to ask you, so that means you have to be with me!"

"Um. No, I'm sorry…but Annabeth's my girlfriend, and I'd rather go with her."

Audrey's face twisted into a disgustingly evil mask of hatred. I swear she looked _a lot_ like Medusa just then.

"It didn't look like she was your girlfriend this afternoon! She was screaming at you to go away wasn't she? And plus, I've heard that she's going with someone else!"

Nico snorted. "That's bull!"

Audrey stomped her feet and screamed in frustration.

"Woah, chill." Travis murmured.

"I need to talk to Annabeth." I walked out the door without another glance, and headed for the Athena Cabin.

Malcolm was the one that opened the door.

"Sorry, Percy. I don't know where she is…she left a while ago."

I checked the Dining Pavilion, The Arena, The Big House…and basically every other spot at Camp.

I stood there, panting.

"Percy?" Her voice came from behind me.

I whirled around, and I see her standing there.

Her blonde hair was in a messy bun that was falling apart. She wore her normal Camp Shirt with blue shorts.

"Annabeth! I wanted to ask you-"

"If you wanted to go with me to the Solstice?" She smiled sadly, a smile that made me nervous.

"Umm…yeah."

She shook her head. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Perce."

My world shrieked to a stop. Ok-I should stop being too dramatic. But seriously—that moment sucked.

"What?" I breathed in silently, holding my breath.

"I just don't want any drama this year at Camp. I think it's best if you went with Audrey."

"Wait! How do you know that Audrey asked me?"

I saw something flicker in her expression, but it quickly went blank.

"I just guessed. It isn't that hard to know what she thinks."

"She said something to you, didn't she?" I was getting pretty angry at Audrey.

"Whatever Percy. I could stand here arguing with you all day, but I'd rather not. I've decided to go with Thalia to the Solstice, so we can just hang out. Now, I'm going to bed."

Without another glance, she turned on her heel and walked back to her Cabin.

"Guess you're going with me, Percy."

I slowly turn around, and I see Audrey leaning against a tree.

"You _made_ her say no! Why the hell are you doing this to us?" I stare her down, angrily.

She stares back at me, shrugging. "I didn't say anything to her. But I _do _want to say something to you. You better pull your act together; I can hurt Annabeth in so many ways, more ways than you can ever imagine."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I shout, getting in her face.

She doesn't blink an eye. "Nothing is. And once again—you better stop acting crazy, and start listening to me."

I didn't see _any_ logic in listening to her.

"Now then", she lifts an arm out; as if I were suppose to escort her. "You better wear something cute to the Solstice tomorrow. I have a feeling that it's going to be a pretty _interesting _day."

I stare down at this harpy with amazement. What the hell am I suppose to do?

**I'm soooorryyy! I haven't updated in a long time! I would have updated yesterday…**

**BUT I READ THE LOST HERO! I was waiting FOREVER to read it, and I finally got it yesterday!**

**It was AMAZING! :D I can't believe we have to wait a whole YEAR for the next book to come out! *Groans***

**And now I'm thinking Audrey seems a lot like Drew from the Lost Hero, right? **

***Sighs* Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter! I think it'll be better in next chapter, with the fancy Summer Solstice, Mount Olympus and all! **

**Reviews please! : )**


	11. Things are FINALLY looking up!

**Once again-THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS EVERYONE! They all made me smile and all happy! You guys are….are….*Thinks hard* ****-ly amazing! **

…**Does that make sense? 0.o P.s. Yeah, I can't really even say that word out loud… "" say that 5 times! :D**

**Annabeth's POV**

I'm sitting at my desk, toying around with the mouse on my computer.

"Annabeth? You in there?" Thalia's voice seeps through the door.

I slowly get up, taking my time, and I open the door.

"Hey, Thal."

"Gods! I'm so sorry Annabeth! I didn't mean to make a scene…you know how I get when I'm angry" she smiles sheepishly at me.

I shake my head, forcing a tight smile.

"S'okay. I'm…better now."

"You sure? I mean—I could like beat Percy up for you if you want. We can have fried fish-sticks outta the remains of that boy once I'm done with him…you're wish is my command!"

My face lights up with an actual smile as I roll my eyes and laugh

"I'm serious; it's alright. I think I cried all my anger out, anyways."

Thalia briefly touches my red and puffy face.

"I'm sorry Annabeth. I swear-next time I see that Aphrodite chick, I'm _so_ gonna-"

"'you're gonna' what?"

We both whirl around, and I see Audrey standing at the door.

Thalia stands up, cracking her knuckles.

"You've seriously got the nerve to come _here-_"

"Whatever!" Audrey snaps, crossing her arms.

"I'm here to talk to Annabeth, not you electro b*tch."

I quickly hold Thalia back, knowing how angry she can get.

"OW!"

When I grabbed Thalia, it never occurred to me that I could get some serious high voltage run through my body.

Audrey snickers, but then narrows her eyes, and places her hands on her hips.

"You can leave now. I think you've don enough."

"Annabeth?"

I sigh. "It's alright-I'll meet you later, kay?"

Thalia nods, and storms -literally, you can basically feel the temperature drop down to freezing- passed Audrey, shoving her from the side 'accidentally'.

"Whoops" Thalia muttered sarcastically.

Audrey scowls at my smiling face.

"You're head of the Athena Cabin." She states.

"NO DUH!" Thalia shouts from outside the cabin.

I crack a grin as Audrey shrieks in frustration.

"OK OK OK! Jeez, I'm leaving. You don't have to be such a harpy about it…" Thalia's voice softens as she walks farther and farther away.

"ANYWAYS." Audrey flips her hair over her shoulder disdainfully.

"Yes. I _am_ the Head of this cabin." I reply calmly.

She smiles coldly. "Well, this summer all the head counselors are going on a field trip to Mt. Olympus for the annual summer solstice."

"Alright." I stare back at her, challenging her.

"I'm taking Percy with me."

"Did Percy agree?"

"He doesn't have to!" she grins.

I'm getting seriously impatient. "I don't have all day, Audrey! What the hell does that mean?"

She flips her phone open, and I see…_Oh my Gods._

"That's…how…YOU!" I stutter, my face burning. She has a picture of me from that…that…_awful day_.

And THAT'S when my mind started working…_Finally!_

"WAIT! You showed Percy that didn't you? THAT'S why he said that you two were…were…"

I attempt to swallow that lump in my throat. _It's alright, Annabeth. They weren't actually dating._

Audrey's suddenly in my face.

"He LOVES _ME! _You're…you're just…you're nothing! You're nothing to him!"

Being this close to Audrey, I can see the beads of swear on her brow, her slightly unfocused eyes as she blanks out, and I can hear that maddening sound of her intensly grinding her teeth.

"If I'm nothing", I say serenely,"than why was he banging on my door saying that he loved me?"

I feel a swell of pride at this, but it quickly deflates.

She sticks out her fancy phone in my face.

"You talk to Percy, and I talk to Pheme about _this!_ And you know how much Pheme loves a good story! Not only would everyone see you completely bare, but Percy would seem like the hugest stalker or creeper in Camp!"

We stare each other down, until my eyes drop to the ground, my face flushed from our verbal battle.

"Good" she grins sadistically, and marches out without another word.

I sit there for a long time, and finally I decide to find Percy.

Seeing him makes my heart thump painfully, but it'll be better very, _very_ soon.

"Percy" I say softly.

Just as he turns around, something catches my eye.

Someone was spying on us form behind the tree's; Audrey.

I hold back a groan.

When can we _ever_ get a break around here?

**Percy's POV **

*******Day of the Solstice*********

"A TUX?" I practically screech.

Audrey puts her hands on her hips.

"Oh come on! It can't be _that_ bad! I think you'll look pretty cute!" she winks at me, and I shudder.

Her smiling face suddenly goes still; from smiling to leering angrily at me.

"I want this Solstice to be _perfect_ for us! And I swear to the Gods, if you ruin this for me-"

"You'll send the whole Camp the picture of me and Annabeth, or you'll 'hurt' Annabeth. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Can you leave now; I have to change."

She blinks a couple of times, totally stunned.

I have a huge smirk on my face as I slam the door in her face, but it quickly crumples as I glare down at that stupid suit sitting mockingly in front of me.

***********After Percy puts on his 'stupid tux'**************

"Aww!" Audrey huffed. "Don't you look-"

"Stupid." I say as flat as I can.

I briefly glance at her, and I raise my eyebrows.

"So where _did_ you get this stuff, anyways?"

She grins at me mischievously. "It was a…gift. Specially gifted to me by my mother!"

I had to admit, even though it's killing me inside to even _think_ it, Audrey looked pretty hot in that dress.

It was a pink ball gown, which puffed out from her waist-down; sort of like a prom dress.

Her hair was tied up messily, and a lot of strands of her wavy hair clung to her neck. She was literally glittering. _**(SEE AUDREY'S DRESS ON MY PROFILE~THERE'S A LINK TO IT!)**_

"Well." She demands, fluttering her long eyelashes at me.

"Well, what?" I ask back, frowning.

She narrows her eyes at me. "Aren't you going to compliment me? I mean—you've been gawking at me for a couple of minutes now…not that I don't mind." She adds with a wink.

My face turns red, and I look down.

"You…err…look…ummm…nice" I finish lamely.

She sighs dramatically, removing a piece of lint from my tux. "You're compliments could use a bit of work…"

She smiles up at me…and even though now I'm basically strangling myself for thinking this…she looked…AMAZING!

"…but we can always work on that, can't we?" she finishes her sentence, and stands on her tip-toes to give me a very _long_ kiss.

"Excuse ME!" Some one clears their throat behind us, and I quickly break free of Audrey's kiss, and I turn around.

Oh my GODS. Standing right in front of me was _ANNABETH_.

She was dressed in her normal orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, with blue jeans. Her hair was as wild and curly as ever, but she brushed it out before she came, so it seemed soft and shiny.

I glance down sheepishly at my tuxedo. "I feel pretty over-dressed."

Annabeth manages a smile, momentarily forgetting Audrey, as she looks down at her clothes. "Don't worry—I feel pretty under-dressed."

"Well you are!" Audrey snaps at Annabeth.

Annabeth's face freezes as she takes in Audrey.

At that moment, I wanted to go to Annabeth more than _ever_. As cheesy as it sounds, I wanted to hold her hand and tell her that I think that she's beautiful, and that she has more to bring to the table than Audrey, Rachel, or any other girl here.

But of course, under these circumstances, I couldn't.

"I was just here to tell you guys that it's time to go." She says coolly, and she turns around, walking away from us.

Audrey scoffs. "Who the hell does she think she is? Dressing like _that_ in front of the Gods! I can't believe her!"

I glare down at Audrey, but she doesn't see. "Shouldn't you be worrying over yourself? I never thought that you had it in you to actually care about someone else."

My comment didn't seem to really work on her, because I guess she was thinking that it was a compliment.

"Oh you're so right! I'm happy-Annabeth looks disgusting in her normal clothes, _and_ she's all alone! While, on the other hand, I'm going to be the most beautiful girl at the Solstice escorted by the cutest guy in Camp!"

"Audrey, it's just a Solstice. I don't see why we have to wear all this stuff just for that, while everyone else is wearing normal clothes."

I let that sink in, and then I bury my face into my hands and moan.

_I'll be the only guy that's actually dressed up!_ I can _so _imagine Travis, Connor, and all the other guys getting a good laugh out of my stupid get-up.

Just then, the bus arrives for us to head to The Big Apple, and I look around self-consciously.

I'm surprised to see everyone else looking actually dressed decent; dress shirts and hair slicked back. Formal dresses with hair-sprayed hair-do's.

My mind flashes to Annabeth, who was the only one wearing normal clothes.

I scan all the faces around me, but I couldn't find her.

"Where's Annabeth?"

Audrey sniffs distastefully. "Don't know, don't care. Now come on! Let's go!"

She pulls at my arm, dragging me onto the bus. I manage one last look behind my shoulder, but there was still no Annabeth in sight.

**Annabeth's POV**

"Annabeth, you _really_ should go back and get changed." Rachel and Thalia frown at my clothing.

"I don't care! I'd rather not dress up into one of those air-choking, uncomfortable, 50 ton dresses. I'd rather go to the Solstice in my battle armor than _that._"

But, I had to admit; everyone did look really good…Especially Audrey.

I felt a flash of jealousy, but I closed my eyes until it went away. I _was_ the one who turned Percy down…but I didn't want to. It was because of that stupid Aphrodite chick!

"You really should stop calling her an 'Aphrodite Chick', dear."

I whirl around, to see Aphrodite in front of me.

"What-what are you doing here?" We're frozen in time, and I see Thalia and Rachel statue-still, their mouths open in mid-sentence.

"Urgh! You could use _a lot _of work, you know that?"

She picks at my shirt, and lifts a lock of my hair, scrunching her nose.

I jerk back instinctively. "I hope you didn't come here just to insult me." I snap.

Her eyes flash red, and I quickly back-track.

"What _are_ you doing here?"

She smiles, her anger absently forgotten. "I'm your own personal fairy godmother for tonight, darling!"

"Wha—" I begin to say, but suddenly the world spins around me, and I collapse.

**********************Once** **they reach their destination*******************

"You-who!" Aphrodite calls to me, shaking me gently.

"Hell-o!" she says cheerfully, shaking me more.

"STOP!" I moan, and press my hands to my ears to make the ringing go away. I was having a _major_ headache.

"Oh just get up already!" she snaps, loosing her patience.

"Ok! Fine." I grumble, getting unsteadily to my feet.

I look around, and I see an ENORMOUS room; all covered with satin and velvet, colors of pink, red, and violet.

Roses and candles hang from every angle, and through the giant stained glass window, it gives me an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. Almost everything there was heart-shaped.

"You room?" I ask in disbelief.

She nods proudly. "It's amazing, isn't it! I guess you can say I'm in _love_ with it."

"So, what am I doing here again?"

She smiles mischievously, and it reminds me of Audrey so much, that I actually shiver.

"We're getting you dressed up for the Solstice!"

I blink. "Um…why?"

She gives me a knowing look. "I can sense jealousy too, you know. And you're giving off _really_ green feelings after seeing my daughter, so I'll help you even up the score!"

As angry as I should have been, I was a little flattered that she was willing to help.

"Ok." I sigh, resigned. I knew better than to decline a God's gift; after all these months, I _still_ don't know what gave Percy the courage to turn down being a God.

**Percy's POV**

STILL no sign of Annabeth.

I look around at all the other Head's of the Cabin; Travis (who managed to some how smuggle Connor with him onto the bus), Clarisse, Thalia (who was here on behalf of Artemis, and Zeus), Katie Gardner **(A/E: Does anyone know what happened to her in the Lost Hero? She didn't die in the Last Olympian…where did she go? :O)**, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Nico, and Audrey and I.

I'm getting a littler nervous; did she miss the bus? Was she angry and decided not to come?

"Percy! I know you're thinking about her! Just stop, ok!" Audrey hisses.

I sigh, but I don't do what she says; the whole time, that was the only thing that I could think about.

*************When they get to Olympus******************

I could go on and on about the whole Olympus thing, but I'd rather not.

The God's did their whole Speech thing; we got to spend time with our parents, which was the highlight of my day so far.

Of course, Audrey had to come and ruin it all.

"So, how have you been, my boy?"

I smile at my dad. "Pretty good. Camp's going…alright, I guess you can say."

Poseidon's smile flickers. "I know; Aphrodite's been keeping us tuned in."

I groan, closing my eyes, as he chuckles.

As humiliating as it is to know that my Dad –a God- and the rest of his family –more Gods- are listening to my pathetic life for kicks, it felt good to spend time with my Dad.

"Percy! Mind if I stay with you guys for a while?" I hear that shrill, whiny voice that I know too well.

"Aren't you spending time with your mom?" I ask, through clenched teeth.

She frowns, making a puppy dog face. "I can't find her!"

I stare helplessly at my Dad, but he just shrugs, and stands up.

"It's alright; I was planning to get back to the meeting anyways. You two enjoy yourselves!"

"Bye, Dad" I mutter, knowing I won't be seeing him for a while.

"So…where _is_ your mom?" I ask, trying to break the awkward silence.

She frowns again, and looks around. "I don't _know!_"

Just then, there was a silent hush that fell on the crowd.

I turn to see what the commotion was –someone had just entered.

"What's going on?" I whispered

Audrey rolls her eyes.

"My mom's here; and I bet she made a pretty good entrance, and probably looks amazing. Come on! I want to introduce you properly to her."

I shrug her arm off, and back away. "It's alright; I've already met your mom once."

My mind flashes back to one of my quests; that uncomfortable talk I had with Aphrodite in the back of a limo about Annabeth.

Audrey glares at me. "You're coming." She hisses, and pulls at my arm for the millionth time that day.

I follow her into the crowd, but suddenly she stops, and I crash into her.

"OW! What's wrong?" I ask, rubbing my arm, which was painfully hit.

"What! How-she….that's…WHAT!" Audrey's stuttering and gawking and wringing her hands, so I have no clue what she's saying.

I push past her, and I end up halting as well.

The crowd was formed in a semi-circle around Aphrodite.

She looked amazing –as always- but my eyes were trained on the girl next to her.

Aphrodite proudly beamed at all of us, and gently nudged the girl forward.

She had her head ducked under her mass of blonde shining curls, but I can still make out her rose-red face, blushing madly at being the center of attention.

Her dress was an amazing blue –my favorite color- and was layered, and also bellowed out form her waist.

It was strapless, and the top part of her dress had silver sparkles designed in a pattern. _**(SEE HER DRESS ON MY PROFILE~THERE'S A LINK TO IT!)**_

She reluctantly raised her head, and the moment she did, her stormy gray eyes met mine.

She paled a bit at first, but then flushed again, and soon the blush died down to a normal rosy color.

That's when I realized how awkward it was; both of us just randomly staring at each other.

Aphrodite was literally dancing with joy on the spot, but finally ended her victory dance, clapping her hands merrily.

"Alright kids! I hope you enjoy this years Summer Solstice! There are nymphs and waiters and a lot more people willing to help you out! I'm a little late for the meeting…but we'll be out soon enough to join you!"

She strides to the door, but suddenly Audrey was there, glaring accusingly at her.

"MOM! How _could_ you! I'm your _daughter!_ I can't believe that you would do such a thing!"

Aphrodite smiles gently at her daughter.

"As a Goddess, I hope you know that my first priority is my work, sweetie."

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR WORK!" Audrey screams angrily.

It goes silent all around, and I see Audrey bite her lip, unsure of what to do.

Aphrodite is literally steaming, and just witnessing this makes me sweat; I vaguely wondered how Audrey felt.

I felt Annabeth's warm hand wrap around my fingers.

I turn my head to face her, and she smiles attentively at me.

"I don't think this is going to be a pretty sight; do you want to go?" she whispers.

I stare back at her, trying to take in her looks all at once.

"Where do you want to go?" I finally choke out.

She blows out a little sigh of relief that I accepted, her eyes dancing happily.

"_ANYWHERE _but here!"

I grin at her and nod, and she grins back.

Still hand in hand, we slowly and silently back away to the door while Aphrodite and Audrey glare each other down, and we make a break for it.

'_Maybe things are looking up for us' _I think, liking this day more than ever, liking this minute more than ever, and liking the tingling feeling in my hand that she's holding more than ever.

**OH WOW. LONGEST chapter ever! I'm really sorry that it's this long you guys! I hope that you don't mind! :S Well, I can assure you that there will be some more Percabeth in the next chapter! Please Review! :)**


	12. Was that Justin Bieber?

**I'll just say one thing for now; Anti-Justin Bieber fans…BEWARE! But it's pretty tolerable, so yeah…don't beware! :D Oh-and this is more of a Percabeth filler, kay? (no real plot to it) : )**

**Percy's POV**

"So…where are we going, again?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Percy, this is the _third _time you've asked me that!"

I grin down at her, nervously. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

We walk in silence for a couple of moments.

"Annabeth are you sure you know where you're going?"

"PERCY!" She tries to give me a firm glare, but it crumples, and she laughs.

I laugh with her, and I debate on if I should hold her hand or not. Is it ok if I be forward?

My heart's doing summersaults, and I can't bring myself to do anything. I was too scared that she'd reject me.

I study her face in the moonlight; her hair billowing behind her, moving up and down in the wind as she walks that confident walk of hers.

She catches me staring at her, and cocks her head to the side, smiling, and stares at me back.

We slow down, and eventually we stop walking, and she turns to face me, biting her painted lower lip nervously.

_Just take her hand. Come ON Percy! Take her hand…_

I do take her hand, and I hold it against me, smiling foolishly.

She stares intently at me, and we both start to lean in; I cup her beautiful face gently, my heart pounding increasingly with a pretty cool tempo.

Her breath catches, and just as our lips were about to touch…

"_There's gonna be one less lonely girl [one less lonely girl, one less lonely girl, one less lonely girl…]"_

Annabeth jerks back, blinking rapidly.

"Did-did you hear that?" She whispers, her face so close to mine, that our noses were touching.

"Ummm….wasn't that…" I couldn't really think straight, with her being so close.

"JUSTIN BIEBER?" Annabeth bursts a short, incredulous laugh, shaking her head like we were crazy. **[To those of you who don't know, Justin Bieber is a 16 year old Pop/R&B singer…who's pretty ~VERY~ successful…don't worry I'm not much of a fan (I think his songs are ok!) but a friend dragged me to his concert a couple of days ago (she cried when she saw him!), and I was scrolling through the pictures of it on Facebook, when I got the idea to write something about it here)**

I groan, leaning my head to press against her warm forehead.

"Annabeth, please don't tell me that you're into Justin Bieber!"

She pursed her lips defensively, and looked away. "I sort of like his lyrics…but that's it!"

"Annabeth has Bieber-fever!" I say in a low tone, mockingly.

"PERCY! I do NOT!" She laughs, shoving me lightly, shaking her head forcefully.

I start solemnly chanting this.

"Annabeth has Bieber-fever, Annabeth has Bieber-fever, Annabeth has Bieber-fever…"

Her hand clamps around my mouth, and she's giggling madly.

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain! Where did the singing come from?"

I shrug, looking around at the deserted garden.

"I dunno."

She snorts. "What an amazing answer, Mr. Jackson!" She mocks awe, clapping slowly.

I grin slyly at her, and I pull her to me.

She looks down shyly, but then trains her eyes on my face, her lips parted.

I take a deep breath. "This time it's for real, right?"

She nods wordlessly, and I smile encouragingly.

I lean in once again, her breath catching again…

"_How many I told yous and start overs and shoulders_

_Have you cried on before?_

_How many promises, be honest girl,_

_How many tears you let hit the floor?"_

We both jump in surprise, and look around wildly. No sign of anyone or anything.

"WHO IN HADES IS OUT THERE?" I shout angrily.

Annabeth's laughing, clutching her stomach.

"What?" I growl, but I'm loosening up already.

"Your…face!" She gasps, laughing more.

"Whatever Wise Girl, let's just find this Peeping Tom…or in our case, Peeping Bieber."

Annabeth rolls her eyes, and hurries over to huddle by my side.

"I doubt Just Bieber is in Mount Olympus, Percy." She shivers cutely. "Gods, I just got a mental image of the Olympians acting like screaming fan girls for Justin Bieber…not a pretty sight."

I laugh, and I drape my arm over her shoulders.

"Hey! What's that?" Annabeth points eagerly at a light behind the trees.

"Probably the source of the mysterious music." I answer grimly, pulling Annabeth behind me.

We slowly and cautiously approach the light. Annabeth's pressed against me, her fingers digging into my arms. I was vaguely aware of her heart pounding against my arm.

"Oh my Gods, Percy!" Annabeth breathes in, staring around with wonder.

The light was coming from a lighted gazebo** (Anyone seen Twilight? It was the thing they danced in during the Prom scene**.) There were rose vines spiraling along the pillars, and Christmas Lights –even though it was summer- covering every inch of it.

"Woah." I dig my hands into my pockets, still bummed out that I couldn't get to kiss Annabeth.

"'_Woah' _is definitely right!" She spins around the gazebo, doing little twirls, and eventually bumps into me.

"Annabeth! Watch out!" I hold her shoulders steadily, while she clutches her head, too dizzy from spinning.

She scrunches her nose sweetly.

"Thanks Seaweed Brain."

I smile at her genuinely, still wondering what this gazebo is doing here, and where the music had come from.

"I think I have a theory!" Annabeth announces.

"Oh yeah? What is it Wise Girl?" I have to smirk at how she can always bring in her intellectual ideas despite any moods; in this case, I guess it's a romantic one. This _is_ sort of a date…right?

She clasps my hands, and pulls me to her, her lips pursed.

I immediately purse my lips back, but once again, just before we were about to touch…

"_How many bags you packed, just to take him back  
Tell me that how many either ors  
But no more… if you let me inside of your inside your world,  
There'll be one less lonely girl…" _

"AH-HA!" Annabeth shouts proudly, pointing at my forehead, looking smug with satisfaction.

My hand creeps up to my face. "What's on my face?"

She stares at me with the, _'Are you kidding me?' _face; a face I know pretty well.

"I was pointing to what's behind you."

"Oh."

I slowly turn around; but I don't see anyone.

"Wait…what? I don't see anything!"

"Per-cy!" Annabeth groans, burying her face into her hands, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Not everyone's a Wise Girl, Wise Girl." I say wryly, a little embarrassed.

She glares at me, but I can see she's just being playful.

"Muses!"

She points urgently at 9 miniature statues, whom on queue, begin to sing and dance again.

"Wow…this is pretty impressive…but I'm still a little annoyed about our…err—interruption."

Annabeth rolls her eyes and looks down at her golden heels as I say this.

"Well then, why don't we finish what we started, right now?" She smiles daringly.

I grin at her, and begun to walk forward…but I couldn't help stare at the Muses, who had stopped singing, and formed back into rigid statues, staring straight at us.

Annabeth laugh. "Don't tell me that you're scared of a couple of little statues!"

"They're staring at us…it's sort of freaky…" I murmur.

Annabeth clucks her tongue jokingly. "Perseus, Perseus, Perseus. Oh so cowardly!"

I make a face at her, but my gaze returns to the frozen Muses.

"Why don't we dance?" She smiles, not waiting for an answer.

The Muses resume singing "One Less Lonely Girl", and Annabeth closed her eyes, and danced to the music.

"_Saw so many pretty faces before I saw you, you  
Now all I see is you  
I'm coming for you  
(I'm coming for you)  
Don't need these other pretty faces like I need you  
And when you're mine in the world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl" _

I couldn't help but just stand there and watch on.

She looked…amazing.

It wasn't just her dress, or the fact that she's _actually _wearing make up.

I don't care about any of that stuff; I just cared about how I felt at that very moment, and how much she meant to me.

She slowly opens her eyes, and flushes when she sees me staring at her.

She lowers her arms to her side, and turns her head to the side.

"You're making me feel like an idiot-" she began.

"-that's a first!" I blurted.

"So I think you have to come and dance with me." She ignores my statement, and smiles.

I gulp. "Ahhahha….NO."

She puts her hands on her hips, and pouts.

"Percy stop being such a Seaweed Brain!"

I roll my head and let it hand. "Urghh, must I?"

The Muses stop singing Justin Bieber songs, and instead, they play a slow song.

I groan, and glare at the Muses.

Suddenly, Annabeth's angry.

"Fine! You know what? I don't _want_ you to dance with me!" She struts off, but I quickly grab her wrist.

"Wait! I was kidding Annabeth, I swear!" I grin pleadingly, and I open my arms.

She looks off to the side, crossing her arms, tapping her foot a little, and wearing an annoyed expression on her face.

"Alright, then. I guess I have to dance by myself."

I pretend to slow dance with an imaginary figure, closing my eyes, and moving slowly in a circle.

"You know, it feel's a little empty here…I think I need someone to fill in this space, so I can dance properly."

I open one eye, and I see Annabeth smiling amused, but as soon as she sees me looking, her mouth snaps shut into a tight line, and she raises her chin defiantly.

"No way." She shakes her head firmly, her curls flying in her face, but I can see a smile somewhere in there.

"Ok; suit yourself."

I start slow-dancing with myself to the Muses' song.

It's actually pretty amazing; they can make the song seem 100 times better than what it really is!

Just then, I felt her in my arms.

I open my eyes, beaming at her.

She slowly puts her arms around my shoulder, and I hesitantly put my hands around her waist.

"I see you changed your mind." I grin.

She rolls her eyes largely, exaggerating each movement.

"It was only 'cuz you looked like an idiot slow dancing with yourself." She muttered, but I still heard anyways, and grinned.

We danced like that for a long time, the song seeming to never end.

Finally it did, and I opened my eyes again to see Annabeth's dazzling grey eyes staring back into my plain green ones.

"Hey." I said weakly, my legs a little shaky.

"Hi." She says back faintly.

She tears her eyes away from me, and glances back at the Muses.

They looked frozen, like the statues they were before; it didn't look like they were going to interrupt us any time soon.

She flashes me a stunning smile, raising her hands from my shoulders to my hair, and she twirls a little piece of it absently.

"No more distractions?" I whisper.

She looks around both sides, reminding me of a crossing guard.

"No more distractions." She confirms firmly.

I take her chin in my hand, and I press my other hand into the small of her back, pulling her closer.

Her eyelids flutter close, a warm rosy tint coloring her cheeks in the orange light.

I was about to make the move, when someone throws a pinecone at the back of my head.

"JUST KISS ALREADY!" they scream.

**Annabeth's POV**

I was _so _close to kissing Percy!

I could basically _taste _his lips on mine! SO. DANG. CLOSE!

One moment, we were both leaning in to each other, and I made sure that there were NO distractions!

…The next moment, we were on the floor, with him onto of me, his face buried into my neck.

"OW! What the Hades, Percy?" I groan, rubbing my head, feeling the already-formed bump under my hair.

Percy moaned into my shoulder, rubbing his forehead, the place where both our heads bonked together.

Out of nowhere, Thalia and Rachel popped up.

"We said to kiss…not to take it that fast." Rachel murmurs, obviously embarrassed.

I glance down at the position we're in, and I immediately pushed him off of me.

"Rachel! Thalia! What are you guys doing?" I screech, my face sizzling.

Percy sits up; pick's up the thrown pine cone, and stares at Thalia, raising an eyebrow.

"A pinecone? Really?"

Thalia gives Percy a cold look at his lame joke. "I didn't throw it at you."

We both stare at Rachel, whose face is red.

She holds up her arms. "Don't look at me!"

"Then who is it?" Percy demands.

"Audrey?" I whisper looking around.

Thalia snorts, shaking her head.

"Don't worry-it _definitely _wasn't Audrey. I have a feeling that she won't be showing her face around public any time soon."

I was extremely intrigued with this news.

"What? Why?"

Rachel shakes her head, smiling.

"You'll see when we get back to Camp."

"Back to topic, who threw the pinecone at me?" Percy demanded.

"My bad…"

I turn around to see Nico and Grover, who were slouching guiltily.

I scowl at all of them accusingly.

"Have you been eavesdropping and spying on us this _whole _time?"

Nico and Thalia book shake their head firmly, while Grover and Rachel both nodded.

"URGH!" I hide behind my hands, trying to cover up my blush.

"I'm sorry!" Thalia plops down beside me.

"We were just in the middle of a bet to see-"

"A WHAT?" Percy asks.

"A bet…" Nico says sheepishly.

"Miniature Pheme's are dominating the world!" Percy declared, giving Nico and Grover a death stare.

"It wasn't just because of the bet!" Rachel urged, trying to fix up the fight.

"Chiron said that it was time to go!"

I blinked quickly. "Already?"

"You guys were out here…a lot longer than you probably thought you were." Thalia smiles.

"Time flies when you're in…LOVE!" Grover and Nico start making immature kiss-y faces at us.

Percy scoffs, and grinned at my burning face.

"Now come ON! We'll meet you there, kay?"

Thalia drags Nico, who wasn't quite done with mimicking faces at us, back inside, and while Grover and Rachel follow at a slower pace, throwing embarrassingly meaningful looks over their shoulders at us.

"Wow…that was…"

"Weird." I finish, shaking my head and smiling.

"Soo…" Percy rocks back and forth on his heels, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"Want to start where we left off?" He asks hopefully.

I laugh, and look down.

"I think what just happened sort of ruined the moment, don't you think?" I smile at him gently.

He makes a face. "I guess you're right…but soon?"

I laugh at his persistence. "I think you should get back to Audrey now…I'm a little curious to see what happened with her and the Aphrodite show down!"

Percy smiles confidently at me.

"Why don't we take a look…together?"

I have to grin back.

"What ever you say, Seaweed Brain."

**Kay…so this chapter really didn't have any plot to it…it puts the FLUFF in Fluffy xD**

**The Justin Bieber thing…I dunno why, I went to his concert with a friend a couple of days ago, and I figured that it would be nice to add something like that in : )**

**Oh, and BTW-Thanks for your reviews everyone! ; ) SUPER awesome! ;D**

**Tell me whatcha think so far! Oh, and about the Audrey thing…I have no clue what I'm going to write about her…send me your suggestions along with a review? Thanks! :D**


	13. I Couldn't Sleep

**Annabeth's POV**

"Urgh! I'm _so_ sick of these heels!"

I tear them off my feet, and lob them behind me.

Of course, I forget that Percy's behind me and my shoes clip him in the head with a big _THUD_.

"HADES!" he shouts, holding his forehead.

Opps.

"Oh my Gods! I'm so sorry Percy!"

He coughs, and in a strangely gruff voice, he says, "I'm fine. It didn't hurt."

I raise an eyebrow, smiling.

"You don't have to act all macho on me, Seaweed Brain! It's ok if you're in really bad pain."

His face crumples, and he grins.

"Ok you're right; _GODS _that killed!"

I rub his shoulders encouragingly.

"Let's go inside, and find Will…it looks like that mark's gonna bruise."

Percy reaches for my hand.

"I can't believe that the night's over _already!_"

I smile sadly, wishing we had more time.

"I know…but everything good always has to come to an end eventually, right?"

I laugh as Percy makes a face.

"Anyways, I can't wait to get back to Camp. I'm about to pass out any second!"

He smiles a little, anxiously. "Me too…but…maybe, do you want to pass out…together?"

I stop walking, and I turn to face him, pretty confused.

"Huh?"

Percy bites his lip. "I was wondering if you wanted to stay over-night in my Cabin, just for tonight?"

He starts to talk more as I register this.

"I mean, you don't want this night to end either…you said so yourself!"

I repeat his request in my head again and again.

He wanted me to stay in his Cabin…overnight. Since Tyson left, there was only one bunk in his Cabin.

Did he realize that there weren't any other beds for me to sleep in?

He laughs nervously. "Earth to Annabeth! Anyone home?"

"But there's only one bed in your room…" I say faintly.

He clasps both my hands together in his.

"Yeah. That's what I meant by you staying with me." He smiles hesitantly.

I bite my lip, and look away.

"Percy…out of all nights, why'd you pick this night to ask me?"

He stares into my eyes steadily.

"Because, I thought this night was pretty perfect, and it just feels right."

I don't know why, but I feel irritated, and I _had _to press him on this.

"Oh, really?" I cross my arms over my chest. "Or is it because Aphrodite made me look like _this, _and tonight's the only night that I'll look like this?" I jerk my thumb up, pointing it at my face.

He steps back, blinking rapidly. I feel a pang of regret for surprising him, but I _had _to know why.

"_What? _Annabeth…no…NO! I mean, you're beautiful but I've _always_ thought that you're beautiful. It's what I was thinking the first time I met you, whether I realized it then or not."

I take a deep breath, and I blow it out, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Annabeth, look at me. Just tell me what you're thinking; I want—hey, look at me—I wanna know how you feel."

I look away, to the side for a moment, and then I stare back at his face, my eyes pleading and desperate.

"I don't _know_ Percy! But all I know is that I don't know if it's such a good idea if I came over tonight."

"It _is _a good idea, Annabeth! You won't regret—"

"_NO_, Percy." I cut him off. "I wasn't being clear. I'm having a hunch about this, and I don't want to stay with you tonight."

He starts to say something, but shakes his heard, raising his arms, palms turned towards me, and backs away.

"Percy, wait—"

"—Whatever. I'm going back." He shrugs my hand off his shoulder, and walks away without the slightest glance back.

I look around; I was all alone in the garden.

Trying not to cry, I pick up my thrown heels, and silently walk back to the Bus.

**Percy's POV **

I'm lying in bed, wondering how I could be so demanding.

I knew I shouldn't have asked Annabeth what I had asked, but at that moment…it sort of just popped out.

"_Hate you, Aphrodite." _I mutter.

Just then, I hear a faint knock at my door.

Heart doing summersaults, I slowly get up, and open the door.

And like a dream, Annabeth was standing right in front of me, her dress replaced by light blue nightwear, and she was chewing nervously on her fingernail.

"I couldn't sleep." She said simply, staring straight at me.

I opened the door wider, and smiled.

"Come on in."

She walks in, saunters over to my bed, and sits on it, staring at her hands.

I sit next to her, glancing at her face every now and then.

Eventually, she sighs, and looks at me.

"I didn't come here for any reason that you probably thought I came here for."

Her fingers briefly linger on my face, and rest on my shoulder.

"I just had to see you."

I shift, so I can see her better in the dim light.

"Alright…you see me. Now what?"

Annabeth purses her lips, thinking.

"Let's…talk!"

"Let's talk." I agreed, gently taking her hand in mine.

Of course, we talked all night. We talked about the good, old times, ["Do you remember the time when I was turned into a guinea pig by Circe?" "OH YEAH! I REMEM—""Annabeth, quiet down!"], we talked about the uncomfortable times, ["Oh my Gods, if you ever stayed with that Calypso, I'd" "—Annabeth! I didn't though! I'm here with you…so stop acting like I'm still with _her!_"]

And eventually, we talked each other to sleep.

**********Next Morning**************

I would like to say that I woke up as happy as…as Grover in a pre-paid Enchilada Buffet, but sadly, it didn't turn out that way.

I was woken up by Annabeth's screaming; it startled me so badly, that I actually ended up falling off the bed.

"ANNABETH! ANNABETH! Are you alright?"

She stopped screaming, and stared at me with horror.

In normal circumstances, I would have laughed; her hair was a ruffled mess, her eyes wide, and her lips in a tight line; she pretty much resembled a startled owl.

I reach out for her. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

She jerks back, almost falling off my single-sized bed herself.

"W-why am I here? I woke up, and I see that I was sleeping on _you_! WHAT. HAPPENED?" She demanded; her face pink.

I chuckled at her confusion. "_YOU _were the one who came_ here_! You couldn't sleep, remember?"

She blinks, her face clearing.

"Oh yeah."

"Silly." I smile, leaning forward, I tweaked her nose teasingly.

_Click. Flash._

We both jerk up to see Pheme at the window with her phone, grinning proudly.

"PERCY!" Annabeth gasps, clutching my arm. "If she sends that out, everyone'll know that we broke Camp rules!"

"I'm on it." I nod seriously, and I jump out the bed, but I immediately halt.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I blink twice, and stare at her.

"Was I just wearing this last night?"

I don't usually notice what I wear, but I guess yesterday night I had on these embarrassing boxers; bright blue with a pattern of dolphins running all across it.

Annabeth turns scarlet. "I don't notice your _boxers_ Seaweed Brain." She turns around in disgust as I hurriedly pull on a pair of jeans.

"But yes, you were." She mutters, with her back to me.

I grin at her, more amused than humiliated, and I hurry out the door.

**Annabeth's POV**

I'm waiting impatiently for Percy to hurry up and get dressed.

I count the seconds; _one, two, three…150, 151, 152…_

"Percy! Are you done yet?"

I cautiously turn around…and I see that he's long gone.

"Seaweed Brain!" I groan, throwing my hands up in the air, and I run up to the Big House, which is probably where Percy and Pheme went.

When I get there, I bump into Chiron.

"My my, Annabeth! What are you doing up so early?"

I bite the inside of my cheeks nervously.

"Have you seen either Percy or Pheme anywhere?"

Chiron frowns.

"I just saw them both head into the infirmary, probably to pay a visit to Audrey."

I wince. "Infirmary…Was is that bad?"

Chiron looks around, and leans in.

"You know how Aphrodite girls get…if we didn't let her in the infirmary, she would probably make a huge scene." He whispered, his brows creasing.

I laughed, shaking my head.

"Alight then. I'll see you later!" And with that, I head out to the infirmary.

Once I reach the infirmary, I see Pheme sitting on Audrey's bed, staring intently at the TV, not blinking. Percy's there, shouting at her, but she keeps shushing him.

"PHEME! Just please _don't _send that picture out! PLEASE!"

"Shh! Let me finish this episode of Gossip Girl! Oh, if only I lived in a world like theirs!" Her eyes sparkled, still trained on the TV.

I glance at Audrey, who glaring at all of us, covering her nose.

"What happened, Audrey?" I ask.

"None of your business!" she spits, turning over so she wouldn't have to face us.

Percy walks over to me, and puts his arm around my shoulders.

"Just like the Aphrodite girls, Aphrodite is pretty over-dramatic about stuff…but—but Aphrodite's really pretty as well!" Percy adds hastily, as thunder booms in the sky.

"She gave Audrey a HUGE zit on her nose." Pheme said distantly, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

My face falls. "That's it? A zit?"

Audrey sits up, glaring at me. Her hand falls away from her face, revealing her 'injury'.

"IS this a 'THAT IT'! Does this look like something SMALL?"

Ok…I had to admit, it looked disgusting. It was the size of a fist, and it stuck out hideously.

"How long is it going to last?" I whisper to Percy.

"Probably a week." Percy rolls his eyes, and shakes his head.

"A week's ok." I say, attempting to cheer her up, when what I really wanted to do was have a victory dance.

"A WEEK is NOT ok! I'm gonna miss out on SO many classes, and parties, and shopping trips…URGH! This basically ruined my life!"

Percy raises an eyebrow. "Umm…it's a _week_."

She screeches, and tries throwing a pillow at his head, but he ducks.

"Anyways", I say, turning my attention to Pheme, who was done with her show. "We don't want you to send that picture of us…you shouldn't be snooping around like that."

"And _you_ shouldn't be in another boy's Cabin!" She points out.

"_Please_" I beg, trying to convince her with the pleading of my eyes.

"What do you want? We'll give you _anything _in order for you NOT to send out that picture!" Percy moans.

Audrey purses her lips, thinking.

Suddenly, she smiles devilishly.

"Well, I have the most perfect thing that I want…"

**Ok, first of all; YES! 200 reviews! *Does another happy dance***

**Thanks everyone! Once again you guys are pretty awesome! ; )**

**One more question! How long do you think that this story should be? : S**

**Is it alright if I ask if you can give me a vague amount of how long do you want this story to be? It just crossed my mind, and it's bothering me . Tell me whatcha think of this chapter, along with your review on my question! :D THANKS EVERYONE! : )**


	14. Mixed Signals are HORRIBLE!

**Percy's POV**

We're pressing against each other, soaking went; attempting to stand on a teeny tiny toilet.

"This is your entire fault Percy!" Annabeth hissed, angrily.

"SHH! They'll hear us!"

She glares at me. "Don't you shush me!"

"Annabeth!" I whispered back, pleadingly. "Just keep your voice down! We'll talk about it _after_ we get out of this mess!"

Annabeth clenched her fists in anger. "I just can't believe that you'd-"

The bathroom door opens, and in a quick attempt to shut her up, I clamp my hand over her mouth.

"AHH!" Oh no.

I think I used a bit more strength than I intended to; she fell back after being pushed, her arms flailing for balance, and she finally –after a couple of seconds of flailing arms and me getting struck in the face and back of the head many times- fell, her foot slipping from the side of the toilet, and sliding directly into the open toilet that we were standing on.

Dead silence on the other side of the door.

"COME ON!" I mouth, panicking.

"I'M STUCK!" she mouths back angrily, trying to get her jammed foot out of the toilet.

We've run out of options; I focus hard on the toilet, and soon a mini-tsunami of toilet water erupts, freeing Annabeth's leg.

"ANNABETH!" I quickly grab her, pulling her into a hug; dirty toilet water doused the whole room; an invisible-like shield protected us from getting wet.

Someone shrieks from outside the door; we can't do anything but stand there helplessly.

The door slowly opens, and we stand there, clutching each other in a puddle of dirty water, wide eyed.

Wanna know how we got into a situation like this? Alright; let's start from the beginning.

*************THAT MORNING**************

"What do you want? We'll give you _anything _in order for you NOT to send out that picture!" I moan.

Audrey purses her lips, thinking.

Suddenly, she smiles devilishly.

"Well, I have the most perfect thing that I want…"

Annabeth and I lean forward, listening intently.

"Rumor has it that Mr. D is having an affair…with someone on Camp!"

Annabeth gasps, jerking back, looking disgusted. "A _Kid_? A Half-blood child? Urgh! That's repulsive!"

Audrey shrugs, her eyes sparkling in that idolizing and evil way; I've noticed it get's like that when she talks gossip.

"I dunno. A nymph, a demigod, a pixie, a unicorn…whatever! All I know is that if I find out what he's doing…or _who_ he's doing…I can score a lot of fame with the _Gods_!"

She grins, her vampire-like teeth shining. "Instant-publicity, right on the spot!"

"So…what's this have to do with us?" Annabeth asks cautiously.

Pheme smiles sweetly.

"I want you to find proof that he's having an affair…by _tonight_! If not…" she toys with her phone, her finger hovering above the 'Send' button, with the picture of me and Annabeth on my bed, waking up.

"NO! Ok! We'll do it…by…tonight." I _always_ fall for that trick; whenever you can call someone's bluff, but you always give in before you can think about it! URGH!

Wait…what did I just say? _We'll do her task…BY TONIGHT? HOW? _

I glance at Annabeth, who's frowning; her forehead creased, and has a little dent in her eyebrows. I know that look; it's her look that says that her over-large mutant brain is thinking over-time.

"How are we supposed to do that? Can you give us any tips?" She asks at last, sighing.

Pheme purses her lips in distaste, and stares at Audrey, who was listening –but pretending not to- to our whole conversation.

"You're pretty mischievous; I think you should go with them."

Audrey's eyes widen, her hands still covering her nose.

"N-no." she stammers.

"WHAT?" We all say at the same time. Pheme's pretty intimidating on her own level; no one really defies her.

Audrey lowers her hands, her chin quivering.

"I've had enough, now. Look at me…I don't think that this zit is going to go away in a week…Aphrodite said it's permanent. I'm through with this. And if we get caught, what do you think Mr. D will do? I'm not his daughter…he won't be too forgiving."

I see Annabeth's mouth drop from the corner of my eyes; Audrey? Admitting defeat!

"So…you'll stop tormenting us." Annabeth stated softly, kneeling by Audrey, and she touched her hand gently with sympathy.

Audrey whips her hand away, and scowls at Annabeth.

"No way! I swore an oath to the River Styx on that! I'm still gonna torture you for taking Percy away from me…but I'm just gonna do it with_out_ Pheme's help."

Pheme stands up, her glazed eyes in slits.

"You have to finish what you started. You're in debt to me; I posted all those things about on my Percabeth blog…so you're going."

Audrey looks away, crossing her arms. "No. I'm not. And I'd like you to leave now."

Pheme stares her down for a couple of minutes¸ but finally just laughs, shaking her head.

"Fine. You'll get what's coming to you." Pheme smirks dangerously, and glides out the door.

Audrey looks like she was going to pass out.

"That was really brave of you." Annabeth said, smiling a little.

Audrey turns to glare at her. "Shut up! I hope you get caught! Maybe you'll like to know what it feels like to look like this!"

Annabeth shakes her head slowly; without Pheme's help, Audrey's threats seem more like the whining of a 5 year-old's.

She catches my eye, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Any ideas?"

There's a sly little smile on her face.

"I've got a pretty good one…"

**Annabeth's POV**

Ok…maybe it wasn't the _best_ idea…

But I wasn't going to give Seaweed Brain the satisfaction of knowing that I've run out of ideas.

"Are you _sure_ this will work?" Percy asked AGAIN…he had an annoying habit of asking the same question again and again whenever he was nervous.

"YES! I'm positive." I tie my hair up in a ponytail, and smooth down my shirt.

I glance at Percy, and my face goes red.

"W-what are you _doing_?" I hiss. My face feels embarrassingly hot.

Percy had taken off his shirt, and was rummaging around for the spare black shirt he brought.

He turns to me –_still_ shirtless- and cocks his head.

"Hmm?"

"You're-you're…never mind." I mutter, turning around, looking everywhere but at him.

His lower lip juts out, and his eyebrows furrow, confused.

I give him a side glance, staring intently at his face.

"Why…why are you _shirtless_?"

OK-as flustered as I sound just then, I have to admit…Percy looked hot without his shirt off. URGH! _THERE_, I said it!

…So what if he looks amazing without a shirt on? After becoming invincible and all, his wimpy figure suddenly got more muscular and lean…

"I was changing into my black T-shirt…you know, for camouflage. Why aren't _you_ dressed more appropriate for plan 'Bust into Mr. D's room and wait till he hook's up with whoever it is in Camp'?"

I ignore his skeptic tone, and roll my eyes, and then stare at my orange Camp t-shirt.

"Because I have a hat that turn me invisible, Kelp Head."

"Oh yeah."

He picks up his black T-shirt, and shrugs into it.

How can he be so…so…_casual_ about being shirtless in front of me? Why am _I_ the only one in this feeling super awkward?

He's acting so…normal. Like we didn't wake up in the same bed this morning, or he didn't walk in on me that day in my Cabin…for a second I thought we could be considered as a couple…but we haven't even _kissed_ yet!

"Hey, Wise Girl, you coming?" he interrupts my thoughts impatiently.

"'Course I am!"

I take a deep breath, but my nerves won't settle down; I wasn't too sure if this plan would work out.

"Second thoughts?" He asked, frowning.

"Of course not!" I snap at him. "Why do you always doubt me? You _never _trust me! And you don't even know how I feel!"

There's an awkward pause; everything's silent.

"Well…how do you feel?" He stares at me, his face a mask.

I bite my lip, this time trying to look a little seductive. I probably did a bad job of it, because his face didn't shift, not taking the hint at all.

I sigh –a little too dramatically-, and shake my head.

"Forget it."

I start striding to the Big House, but I stop when I see Percy isn't following me.

"Come _on_!"

He doesn't move.

"Annabeth…" he says slowly. "You don't know how _I _feel, either."

My heart pounds as the blood rushes to my head.

"Well…how do you feel?"

He opens his mouth to reply, but there's a noise at the Big House, and we both whirl around.

Someone in a hooded cloak glides over to the entrance of the Big House. They look both ways before knocking softly on the door.

Percy and I huddle behind a tree, completely silent.

Mr. D opens the door with an amused smile on his face. He then gestures for the person to come in, and they do.

Once they were inside, Mr. D was about to close the door, but he stiffens.

Stepping outside, he looks around, glaring menacingly.

I squeak, but Percy covers my mouth with his hands.

After a few more moments, he steps back inside, and closes the door.

Percy sighs with relief, and leans back onto the tree.

"He _so_ knows we're here." He says casually, and runs his fingers through his hair¸ eyes closed.

I glare at him. See what I mean when I complain about his mood swings? He was all…intimate a couple of minutes ago! Now, he's all cool; basically saying _'I'm positive we're gonna get caught, but I'm just here for the ride…and also so I can say 'I told you so'._

"He doesn't." I say promptly, pulling out my cap.

"Annabeth? Where'd you go?" Percy hisses. I smirk, but he can't see. Now that I'm gone, he panics…where'd his cool side go now?

"You stay here…I got this." I say, slowly walking away.

Percy lets out a frustrated groan.

"We're supposed to be doing this _together_!"

"Well, you're putting in a lot of enthusiasm and effort!" I snap. "'_He so knows we're here'_" I try my best to imitate Percy's voice, making it sound extra dull and stupid.

"Alright, alright! Come _on_! Just take off your hat, please?"

"Why?" I challenge.

He pretends to think for a few seconds.

"So I can see your gorgeous face in the moonlight? And then hold you close, why running my fingers softly through your beautiful, long, curls."

He says it so seriously, that I begin to stutter, not sure what to make of that. He holds up his hands, wagging his fingers in every direction.

I bite my lip; OK…it would probably feel _amazing _to have his hands in my hair…

Percy snorts. "Alright…since that's not fooling anyone; maybe so I can follow you, since your over-large dictionary of a brain obviously has a strategy, and I'm guessing your not going to tell me what's our real plan?"

I grumble nonsense, and quickly take off my cap. _How could I think that he's serious?_

"So…_are _you going to tell me your real plan?" He asks hopefully, jogging to my side.

"I already told you our plan."

He stares at me, jaws slack.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE KIDDING! You honestly think that sneaking into the Big House, and waiting is a good idea?"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"No…"

"Point taken." I roll my eyes at him; I don't take offense to this…even I have to admit; this wasn't one of the most brilliant ideas I've had.

I turn to him, smirking, but it quickly fades when I see that he's right behind me; our noses touch, and his full lip are inches away from mine.

Jerking back, I whirl around, keeping my head down.

Percy coughs, and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, completely at ease.

"So…they should be upstairs by now…let's head in." I say gruffly, my face probably pink.

"Kay."

We tiptoe into the Big House; my heart starts to pound.

I can tell already that this isn't going to be a good idea…but I keep going.

We hear laughter coming through the doors, and in the little crack, we see a warm light shining; candle light?

"_Let's GO_" Percy mouths at me, gesturing to the door, as if I didn't notice that already.

I nod, and slide on my cap, turning completely invisible.

Seeing Percy's panicked face, I instantly reach out and grab his hand.

Slowly, I take off my hat, turning visible.

"Here. This was my idea. If we get caught, you shouldn't be blamed. Take my hat."

Percy's fist closes around the hat, but lightly tosses it aside.

"We're doing this together." He says again, firmly.

I can't help the tingling feeling inside me, and I smile.

"Let's go!" I murmur, while my hand's still in his.

**Percy's POV**

_What I wanted to do at first_; take Annabeth's hat, run to the corner, and rock back and forth until this whole crisis was over.

_What I did;_ I threw the hat across the room, and acted all brave for Annabeth.

_Why I did this; _I have no freaking idea…I guess –as cheesy as this sounds-, I didn't want to let Annabeth get hurt. We _are_ on this together. Might as well have a good Last Hurrah, right?

Annabeth slowly approaches the door, on her tip-toes.

"Who's in there with him?" I ask urgently.

"I don't _know_! I can't see!" She moans, frustrated.

"Here, move over!" I try to nudge her out of the way, but she's like a rock.

"NO! This is _my_ plan; I'll see who it is!"

I stare at her, incredulous.

"But you just said that you _can't _see who it is!"

"Just give me some time!"

"Annabeth…move over."

She sets her jaw hard, and stares at me with frozen grey eyes; along with the multi-colored flecks in her eyes, it's sort of like looking into a pair of granite rocks.

"NO."

"WISE GIRL! Stop being so…unreasonable!"

She scoffs a laugh at that, and narrows her eyes at me, squinting hard.

"Why do you want to see so badly? I don't see your logic in this; you want to see an old guy and a kid making out? You're such a perv!"

"Why do you NOT want me to see so badly? I don't see YOUR logic in this; why are you so intent on not letting anyone else see this? YOU'RE the perv!"

Our conversation pretty much went like that for the next 10 minutes. It's a miracle that we didn't get caught sooner.

********10 Minutes of Meaningless Arguments later…. *****************

"HONESTLY! Who would want to see something like this? Only someone with a head full of Kelp would!"

"MOVE OVER!"

"NO!" Annabeth shouts back, but suddenly she clamps her mouth shut with her hands, staring wide eyed at the door.

The laughter inside the room stopped, and Annabeth peers into the room.

Her face changes, flickering with a bunch of emotions.

"Let's go." She says stiffly.

"WHAT! Why? What did you see? Take a picture; we need proof!"

"NO!" she snaps. "We're going back."

"Says who?"

"Says ME!"

In a blink of an eye, I swoop her up, whirl her around, and I quickly leap for the door while she's scrambling to pull me back.

"PERCY!"

I see Mr. D, and then a flash of hair; I can't tell what color it is, or who the person is.

Annabeth hauls us over to the nearest door, dragging me by the collar.

She quickly shuts the door, breathing hard.

In the silence, we hear the footsteps pass our room; and then, they're gone.

"What the Hades is wrong with you?"

She sighs softly, and buries her face into her hands.

"I'm sorry! I just…couldn't!"

"Why not?"

She stares at me, tears prickling her eyes. I shift around, a little awkward by this.

"Because we know her…" she whimpers, wiping her tears.

I sigh. "But now we didn't do what Pheme asked."

She sniffles. "I know…but I don't care. I'm sorry, Percy; this is just too…too…"

"I really wish I can understand, Annabeth. But right this instant; all I feel is regret. I should have done this myself."

Woah. Where'd _that _come from? I didn't mean that-I swear! But…as usual, it's too late to take it back.

Annabeth stops sniffling, and stares at me, her eyes narrowing.

"Excuse me? What happened to doing this 'together'? What happened to everything that you've said before? You're such a….a…URGH!" She throws her hands up into the air, frustrated.

And of course, just as she threw her hands up in the air, she hit something, and after a moment, water began pouring down on us.

Annabeth yelps as the cold water drenches her, and she scrambles around, looking for the light switch.

Once she flips it on, we see we're in a bathroom; Annabeth had turned on the shower.

"Nice going." I murmur, and with a flick of my hand, I start making the water evaporate; first off me, and then off the floor and walls.

Once I get to Annabeth, she glares at me, raising a finger.

"Don't! I don't need your help. I don't take help from people like _you_."

"Wasn't even gonna offer." I mutter, even though I was.

She stands there stiffly, dosed from head to toe, and crosses her arms.

All of a sudden, the door knob of the bathroom begins to turn.

Annabeth's icy glare melts, and she throws me a frantic look.

I nod to one of the stalls, and she nods back.

Swiftly and silently, we run to the stall, close the door, and attempt to stand on the tiny little toilet.

_And THIS is how we got into a situation like that. _**(THE BEGINNING PART OF THIS CHAPTER)**

**Heeey Everyone! Once again; THANK YOU for the many, many reviews! : )**

**I haven't updated in about 2 WEEKS! (Longest time I haven't updated)**

**I'm so…so…SO sorry! I've had a lot going on! BUT GUESS WHAT? This Friday, (On the 17****th****) winter break starts, so I'll have a whole lot of time to keep writing! And another good thing…well, for me…! In exactly a week (December 22)…it's my birthday! : D Yaay! *starts clapping***

**Ok-back to the story. What do you think of it so far? **

**Mr. D having an affair with someone in Camp? TOTALLY 'ewwww', right?**

**But don't worry; we'll find out who it is next chapter! I sort of have an idea on who I want this person to be…but I WANT YOUR OPINIONS! : ) **

**Who do you guys think it's going to be/ want it to be that's having the affair with Mr. D? PLEASEE tell me! : ) I'd like to hear another person's thoughts on this!**


	15. I'm SUCH a Wimp!

**QUICK RE-CAP: Percy and Annabeth need to find who's having an affair with Mr. D, or else –as always- Pheme will threaten them with a picture. They're currently hiding in a stall in a bathroom, but someone walks in…and they end up drenching whoever's out there in dirty toilet water…**

**And random question; HAS ANYONE READ THE HUNGER GAMES? I started/finished it a couple of days ago! Isn't it one of the most awesomest books you've ever read? (Aside from P.J.O!)**

**Annabeth's POV**

I bite my lips, and my fists clench, tightening over Percy's shirt.

_Don't open the door! Don't open the door! Please; if you know what's good for you…just don't open the door! _I silently beg…

…but it's too late.

She opens the door, her eyes narrowed, but quickly lights up with surprise, then confusion, then panic, and finally dread.

"Th-th-th-THALIA?" Percy splutters. **(To those of you who guessed Thalia…you're right!...I had to make a long and agonizing decision on this…)**

My nails dig into him; he's making this _way _harder for her than it should be.

"Oh my Gods!" She moans, shaking her head, and squeezing her eyes tight.

"It's alright, its ok." I say as calmly as possible.

Percy shoots me a bewildered look, but I ignore him, my thoughts trained on Thal.

Thalia still has her eyes shut tight, her face pale.

"Thalia." My voice is clipped, wanting her to look up at me.

She eventually does, and I practically burn my eyes into her; I can see she's a confused scared.

I immediately soften up; she's still 15…but technically she's older than us, but as I tower over her by inches, and looking into her fearful face, I can't help thinking of how younger she looks.

"Oh, Thalia!" I sigh, and I give her a hug.

She hugs me back, and eyes Percy, who's still scrambling, not knowing what to do.

"What are you looking at, Prissy?" She mumbles.

His mouth opens and closes like a fish, and I can't help slipping out a little giggle. Thalia laughs too, and soon we're both laughing a little hysterically, while Percy's still confused.

"WAIT! Stop laughing! So…so…._you're_ the whor-"

"-PERCY!" I snap. He has the grace to look a little guilty.

Thalia sighs, shaking her head.

"No, it's ok. I guess in your eyes it does look like that…I have an explanation, though."

Just as she was about to explain, we hear the door open again, and softly shut close.

We stare at each other in silence, suddenly aware of the tiny, visible stall that we're huddled in.

"Mr. D?" Percy mutters uncertainly.

Thalia shakes her head firmly, eyes wide.

"No. Right before I came here, he told me that he had to go."

Percy snorts. "He just leaves you? Nice boyfriend."

"I SAID THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN US! I HAVE AN EXPLANATION!-"

"Guys!" I hiss, gesturing to the outside of the stall door; it's clear that there's someone in here with us.

I take a deep, cleansing breath, and carefully open the stall door.

"TRAVIS?"

"HEY! I'm here too…why does everyone acknowledge Travis, and not me?" Connor demands.

Percy smiles sheepishly. "Oh, hey Connor."

My mind is whirling, and I can see that it's the same for Thalia.

"WAIT! What are you guys doing in the _girl's BATHROOM _in the middle of the night?" I demand.

They stare up at me innocently.

"We're just having our annual prank…"

"You guy…" I say warningly. "What's in the bag?" They're carrying this huge, suspicious-looking sack.

"…Overlarge insects; we were planning to dump them here."

They start snickering, remembering the fuss their prank made a couple months before.

"That wasn't funny!" I snap at them, trying to hide a smile.

I –_thankfully_- was at training when they pulled the prank, but I remember walking into the Big House, and doing a double-take when I saw about a dozen traumatized Aphrodite girls, wheezing into paper bags and inhalers because they saw 5-foot insects squirming around in the bathroom.

They stop laughing, and instead, they take in Thalia and I.

"Woah. Were you guys in the middle of a wet T-shirt contest, or something?" He points to our soaked clothing, and I instantly turn red.

"Percy?" I hiss, embarrassed.

Thalia crosses her arms over her chest, and glares icily at the Stoll brothers, who look all day-dreamy.

"Of Course…" Percy mutters through clenched teeth.

In a second, the water from my clothes was gone; I was toasty warm, and 100% dry.

_Hmmm_, Percy seems…annoyed? Angry?

…Jealous?

Whatever it is, he still looked pretty cute with that enraged expression; he seemed angry and defensive, but from everyone else' view, he had no reason to be.

Does he still like me, even when I acted like a complete harpy about 5 minutes ago?

"Thanks." Smiling genuinely, I reach for his hand.

Obviously, none of this is missed to the demonic Stoll brothers, who let out groans and look disappointed.

"Aww! Annabeth's already booked!" Connor complains.

Travis sighs, tousling his hair, and turns to Thalia.

"Well, I guess I have no choice but to choose you."

He winks slyly at her, and tries to imitate a seductive voice. "Don't get _too_ excited now!"

Thalia stands there, looking incredulous.

_SMACK._

"OW! What the Hades?"

She crosses her arms again, and stares –looking pretty satisfied- at the black eye forming on Travis, from where she punched him.

"I'm the lieutenant of Artemis. You'd be crazy to speak to me like that."

Percy opens his mouth. I know what he's about to say, but I'm too late to stop him.

"So if you're a hunter of Artemis…why'd you still bang Mr. D?"

And just like that, time freezes. It's strange…it reminds me of how Cronus use to control time…it would be all frozen and slow.

I watch Travis' face go from confusion, to realization, to pretend disgust.

"_OH MY GODS! You…you BANGED Mr. D! URGH! That's just SICK!_" he chortles, grinning from ear to ear.

_SMACK._

"OW! My OTHER eye! Damn it Thalia!"

By now Thalia's fuming, looking like she wanted to break all the guys in half.

"I _hate_ boys!" she mutters under her breath.

"Then why'd you sleep with Mr. D?" Connor pipes up.

"I DIDN'T! And I won't tell _you_ what happened…no way in Hades!"

Percy crosses his arms, looking smug.

"I don't _wanna_ hear your nasty explanation…it'll probably scar me and give me nightmares!"

Thalia shrieks, but I hold her back; Percy doesn't mean it; it's just a stupid thing he does when he's around Travis and Connor.

"Let me at him!" she growls menacingly.

"Get her away from me!" Percy shrieks –sounding incredibly like a girl, I might add. He's pale and terrified; Thalia probably looks like an enraged bull right now.

Travis laughs, enjoying the whole argument, his eyes twinkling behind the rapidly forming bruises.

I'm holding onto Thalia's waist, dragging her back, and shouting at her to stop.

Thalia's screaming and cursing at all the boys, attempting to throw things at them.

Percy's still shrieking (still in that high-pitched voice) and is nearly dodging the items that Thalia keeps throwing at them. He keeps screaming, "It's not MY fault that YOU slept with Mr. D!"…this isn't the most soothing thing to say at a time like this.

Connor's hiding behind a trash can, avoiding to get hit, while snickering the whole time.

Travis is by the mirror, inspecting and complaining about his 2 black eyes.

Everyone's screaming, shouting, talking, and arguing at the same time…I can't think!

"SHUT UP!" I roar.

My face is probably flushed, and I'm a little pleased that everybody stops.

"What NOW?" Travis whines, annoyed that I interrupted the fight.

I take a deep breath, put my hand son my hips, and I stare all of them down.

"Do you realize that you guys are SCREAMING in here? In the Big House…breaking curfew…_IN Mr.D's BATHROOM?_"

"Err-this is the girls' bathroom, Annabeth." Percy, as always, points out the obvious (the walls are coated in pink.)

"Whatever! It's still a horrible thing to do, and we can get in deep trouble for it!"

"Well, Thalia won't get in trouble, I'm sure Mr. D will think of a compromise for her." Travis winks knowingly at her.

Thalia was about to lunge, but remembered where she was.

"Once we get out of here, I'm gonna pulverize you." She growls darkly.

Travis touches his eye unconsciously, winces, and then audibly gulps.

Just then, we hear more footsteps outside.

**Percy's POV**

We're all fidgeting, wondering what to do.

Thalia wordlessly reaches for the light switch, and flicks them off, plunging us into darkness.

Moments pass, but it's obvious that the footsteps have stopped somewhere close by our washroom door. We can now hear Chiron's voice, and the noise that his hooves make against the polished floor.

"TRAVIS! Get your hands OFF of me!" Annabeth hisses in the dark, and I can feel her squirming away.

I grind my teeth together.

"DUDE! What's your problem?" I demand. It's a little hard to look intimidating in the darkness.

Travis' voice comes from across the room.

"Wasn't me. I'm standing right here. And what do you people take me for? I'm a perfect gentleman!"

I hear Thalia snort, somewhere far off as well.

"Connor?" Annabeth asks in disbelief, struggling in the darkness to get free of whoever's holding her.

"I'm over here, with Travis!" Connor says, confused.

I stare at the space where Annabeth's voice is coming from; there are no windows here, so its pitch dark.

"Annabeth?" I ask uncertainly.

She keeps struggling, more agitated than ever.

"SHH! Do you here that?" Thalia whispers, her Hunters instinct kicking in.

I could faintly make out the sounds of tiny movement. I think I know what it is…and I feel sick.

"Annabeth…don't freak out, ok?" I ask uncertainly.

This just makes Annabeth more flustered, and frightened.

"Kay." She breathes out, and I could basically feel her heart pounding from here.

"Thalia…I want you to slowly head for the light switch, and turn it on. Annabeth; don't freak out…just stay calm." My palms are sweaty, and I lick my lips, which have rapidly dried out.

I can hear Thalia's soft footsteps heading for the light, and I brace myself.

She flicks them on.

The first thing I hear is everyone gasps. Then, just like I predicted; Annabeth started screaming, full throated screams.

The reason Travis and Connor were even in the bathrooms was because they were setting up for their annual pranks; letting loose a bag of insects in the girl's bathroom.

What they failed to tell us was that inside…they had millions of spiders; Annabeth's biggest phobia.

She was swarmed with spiders, covering her from head to toe; on her shoulders, her arms, her thighs, legs, fingers, her trembling lip, her curls, and the lobe of her ear.

I look down and I see the spiders are crawling up us as well.

"GET THEM OFF ME! PERCY! AHHHHHHH!" she screams, attempting to swat away the spiders.

Travis and Connor crack up at first; amazed that Annabeth's so scared of spiders. But as the screams keep going, their humor disappears, and I guess they see that she's _really_ scared of them.

Thalia's stomping on spiders, shaking them out of her hair, and flicking the ones near her.

I immediately run over to Annabeth, and attempts to shake off her spiders…but it's no luck. There are so many, and they keep clinging to her.

The Stall brothers are scooping up all the spiders, and shoving them back into the bag.

Slowly and steadily, they get to Annabeth, and begin to pull them off her, cupping their hands, and slowly dragging handfuls of the spiders back into the bag.

Travis works on getting the spider off her legs and feet, while Connor attempts to pick them out of her hair.

Thalia's cleared her section of spiders, and rushes over and starts picking spiders off Annabeth too.

There weren't many spiders on us; Annabeth's got the worse of it.

Travis eventually gets to the top of her Camp shirt, and raises and eyebrow.

"I think a few of them went into your shirt…do you want me to get them out for you?"

He wiggles his fingers in the air, and Annabeth glares at him, her face pale.

"Oh for Gods sake, Travis." Thalia hisses, and clenches the bottom of Annabeth's shirt with both hands, and pulls it away from Annabeth, allowing a bunch of spiders to fall out, swarming at her feet.

"Oh no you don't!" Connor mutters, picking up the spiders and putting them back into the bag.

Finally, after what seemed like forever; all the spiders were back in the bag.

Annabeth was trembling from head to toe, looking like she might faint.

I cup her face, watching her closely if she might fall over, or throw up.

"You ok?" I breathe out in a rush.

"I'm fine…" she croaks lightly, and sways a little.

I lean my forehead against hers, clutching the back of her neck.

"You'll be fine, ok? There are no more spiders here."

Tears gather at the sides of her eyes, and she brushes it away impatiently.

"Urgh! Gods, this sucks. I'm such a wimp." She mutters, laughing a little.

I stare at her intently.

"You are _not _a wimp!"

"Oh?" She challenges me playfully. I resist the urge to smile; she's already forgetting about her fears. "Than what am I, Seaweed Brain?"

"You're…you're…beautiful." Wait-was that a good word to use? I quickly correct myself. "You're perfect, and no one can change that."

I begin to lean in, one hand sliding up to the back of her head, while the other stays put on the back of her neck. Her hair feels damp with sweat; she was probably _really _scared of those spiders.

Annabeth starts to lean in as well, but her eyes dart to the side, and her lips press together, forming and embarrassed smile.

"Per-percy?" she mumbles, her face red.

"Mmmmhh?"

"I think it's better if we _don't _have an audience." She laughs, half annoyed, half amused.

I break away from her, and turn around.

Thalia was leaning on the wall, trying to look cool while it's pretty obvious that she's super giddy and excited.

The Stoll Brothers are basically climbing over each other, closing each others eyes, to see the kiss.

When we break apart from each other, they get tensed and urgent.

"What are you _doing_?" Connor moans, shaking his head.

"_Just KISS the girl!_" Travis sings.

I make a face at Travis. On my birthday, they pranced in, waving 'The Little Mermaid' DVD in my face, forcing me to watch it with them. Of course, they claimed that I was Ariel in disguise, and what Travis was doing now was quoting one of the songs from that movie.

Annabeth laughs, pushing me away.

"I don't think we should be here any longer than we have. Let's head back."

Thalia muffles her groan, marches to the door.

"They get so distressed over such little things!" I murmur to Annabeth.

She lightly pushes me, her eyes narrowing mockingly.

"Little things, Percy?" She questions me, pursing her lips.

I was about to respond, but the Stoll brothers come out of no where, and they each lean an elbow on either side of my shoulders.

"It sucks that they didn't kiss, right Travis?" Connor says, talking to him like we weren't even there.

"It _does_, my dear brother, Connor. But don't worry; it starts off with a kiss. If they don't get it, their tension will build, and build, AND BUILD, and then…POOF!" He mimes an explosion with his hands.

"What does that even _mean_?" Annabeth demands, placing her hands on her hips.

Travis passes by, and taps her nose with his finger.

"Elementary, my dear Annabeth. It'll all be revealed in good time."

He pretends to smoke a pipe, and walks away, leaving Annabeth bewildered.

I laugh. "You know, Travis! Imitating Sherlock Homes doesn't work if you haven't even bothered to see the movie…you don't even know it's about!"

"Oh, shut up Ariel!" Travis shouts over his shoulder, grinning.

I shake my head, chuckling. When I sober up, I see Annabeth smiling at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Ariel?"

"Long story. Anyways, now that we know it's Thalia…what do we do?"

Annabeth's face falls, and she twirls her hair around her finger. That move distracts me for a moment.

"She keeps saying that she has an explanation…I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK!" she groans, leaning her head onto my shoulder, making her voice muffled.

"We'll figure this out in the morning, alright? In the mean time, you should get some sleep."

"I don't know if I could even GET some sleep!" She wails.

I smirk. Is she talking about our almost-kiss?

"Well, if you can't sleep…I have something better for the both of us to do." I say teasingly.

She Charlie-horses me **(For those of you who don't know/haven't been Charlie-horsed before; it's basically when someone digs their knee into your leg, making it cramp up. It happened once when I was playing soccer…VERY painful!)** from behind, making me fall to the ground, clutching my leg.

"OWW! What was _that_ for?"

She huffs, and smiles down at me.

"That's for not kissing me."

She leans down, her eyes burning into mine.

I struggle to catch my breath, and lean into her.

Quickly –so fast, that I wasn't even sure it happened-, she bends down and kisses me on the check.

Jerking up right, she marches away to her Cabin, leaving me disoriented and confused on the ground.

"G'night Kelp Head!" She calls over shoulder.

"Good night…" I say weakly, clutching my leg, smiling.

Just then, I turn around, and I see a figure standing behind a tree, peering at us.

Pheme.

You know what? I don't care if she sees or not.

I stand up right, and using both hands, I give her the finger.

She starts, surprised.

Before she recovers from her shock, I turn away, stomp to my Cabin, and I slam the door.

It felt good to be a rebel.

**Yaaay! Done this chapter!**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! We've just finished unwrapping/ 'oohing' and 'ahhing' at all our gifts, and then thanking everyone, and then saying 'Merry Christmas' about 3725624054 times! I wish this chapter could be Christmas related….but it's taking place in the summer soo…yeah .**

**When I said last chapter that I'll have **_**more **_**time to write chapters…it's actually the opposite! I'm being dragged out the house at the most randomest times; when I'm still sleeping, I'm being hauled out of my bed to go ice skating; when I'm eating lunch, I'm being dragged outside to have an 'epic snowball fight'…I hope everyone's Christmas Break is going good! : )**

**Oh! And I **_**finally **_**turned _ days old 3 days ago! xD happy belated birthday to me! (Wow…I'm wishing myself…that's a little lame! .)**

**Anyways…reviews would be nice! Comee on, PJO fans! It's Christmas! Can you spare a review with the goodness of your heart? :D Also…**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!**


	16. This is just fantastic!

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! : ) Hope you guys had an awesome Christmas! ;)**

**I'm gonna reply to your reviews…since I have nothing else to do right now .**

**SkylerPhoenix; Ahhaaa, I know, right? :) Well, I'm glad he did it now than never!**

**Dark Phantom 96; I will! Happy Holidays 2 u 2! :D**

**AnimalBuddy32; ahhaaa, yup! 'Go Percy!' indeed x)**

**olympian1999; I know! I wasn't sure WHO I should have chosen for this…'situation'…but I figured Thalia would be best :)**

**AnnabethIsTheBest; Thankyouu! :) OMG! YESS! I loved the Hunger Games! But I found the last book incredibly depressing! :(**

**Candy0304; Merry Christmas to you to! *Smiles secretly* Well, you just have to read on! ;)**

**"_" (No name); I TOTALLY agree! Poor Peeta :( I can't wait till they make the Hunger Games movie…hopefully, they don't mess it up ;)**

**Blackattitude; Ahhaaa, I know! I honestly wasn't sure **_**who**_** to put for this…but I guess Thalia just seemed right at the time . To your 2****nd**** comment; thanks! : ) And to your last comment; hmm…that's odd :S I think they took the dress off the site . Oh well! :)**

**Demigod kid, Minite, Heyy, & Percabeth12; Aww! Thanks you guys! :D**

**Percy's POV**

I get up, stretch, and then yawn.

URGH! I barely got any sleep; my thoughts were jumbled between Annabeth, Pheme, and that ridiculous 'affair'.

I'm late for practice, but I take my time; I brush my teeth, take a quick shower, shrug into my clothes, and I head out for another wacky day at Camp.

First up, I have training at the Arena…with Thalia, Annabeth, Travis, and Connor. Oh, joy.

"You're late Percy…for the _7__th_ time." Chiron sighs, disappointed.

"Way to go, Prissy!" Clarisse calls out, earning snickers from all the other butt-ugly kids from the Ares Cabin.

I grit my teeth; Chiron told me if I was ever late again, I'd have to clean up after everyone once practice was done.

My eyes scan the room; Travis and Connor were being immature –big surprise- by tapping people on the other ends of their shoulder, making them look the other way.

Thalia's playing with her bow, strumming it slight, and testing it.

Hmm…they all seem to be…different?

The only one who looks up at my gaze is Annabeth.

I watch as she lunges for a dummy with her dagger, striking it straight in the stomach. She pulls her dagger out, tucks it into her pocket, and raises her hands to re-tie her ponytail, which became wispy and loose after her attack on the dummy.

She raises her head, and smiles at me.

"Hey Kelp Head. Late again?"

She looks down, and makes a face at the remains of her dummy.

"I'll try not to be too messy practicing, alright?" she smiles helpfully at me.

I ruefully grin back at her. "Thanks, but I think I'll still be in here for a while." I gesture at Clarisse and her gang, who were ripping apart their dummies, causing straw and hay to scatter every inch of the floor.

She leers back at my pained face.

"I could help clean up, if you want." Annabeth says uncertainly.

I laugh; no one wants to be stuck with this job, and it's clear that she's just saying that.

"Thanks, but you have work to do as well. How's Olympus coming along?" I brush out a wisp of hair from her face, causing her to turn a little pink.

"Oh, it's going good! I've just started on my blue prints for the back of the-" she launches into her tale enthusiastically, and I listen/pretend to listen to her as we attack dummies.

Eventually class finishes, but Annabeth's story doesn't.

"It's alright, you can tell me the rest later!" I half plead, making it sound as convincing as I can.

She huffs, but smiles. "Alright…good luck with er-This! I'll see you later!" She waves and heads to her Cabin.

Eventually everyone clears out, leaving me to be stuck with the aftermath of the class.

Sighing, I swoop down to pick up a fistful of hay.

Something catches my eye, and I jerk up. Pheme's sitting on a window ledge, staring at me.

Gods, she reminds me of a black cat…freaking creepy.

She tilts her head to the side, watching and waiting.

"So…you train here often?" I ask weakly.

She raises her eyebrows slightly, and gives no other response.

I know the answer already; she doesn't do any training or sports…unless you count stalking as a spot. I also know that the only reason she's here is because she wants an answer, and I know what I have to do.

"You're here about the rumor…well, you know what? It turned out to be false…and I don't give a sh*t if you send out that picture. By today, everyone will know that we're together."

I hold my breath as she stares me down. I wasn't sure if Annabeth wanted us to be a couple.

Slowly, Pheme starts to smile.

"Alright." She simply says.

"Wait-what?" I demand.

She shrugs sweetly. "I'm disappointed about the rumor and everything, but I'll get over it. Congratulations by the way!" she grins.

"'Congratulations' for _what_, again?" I ask, blinking.

"For, you know…hooking up! You two _are_ in relationship now, right? Or did you just lie? So that means that Annabeth slept in the same bed as you, but you guys don't even bother to do anything about it? That's…confusing."

She makes an innocent face. "So, what _is_ the truth?" she says lightly.

I wipe my suddenly sweaty hands on my pants, stalling for time.

"Umm…yeah. We're a couple."

She smiles promptly. "Good! I'll see you and your…_girlfriend _at the Camp Fire tonight!"

I swallow down a forming lump in my throat.

"Yeah…we'll see you there." I choke out.

I suddenly have a _really_ bad gut feeling on the whole Camp Fire thing.

She stares me down for a couple of moments, and then leaves.

I look around, breaking out of my daze.

"Oh, COME ON!" I groan, shouting at no one in particular. I'm still stuck cleaning. Ho-ray.

**Annabeth's POV**

Just another stressful day in Camp.

I read over Daedalus' plans, sipping Diet Coke.

Its whole less sugar thing isn't helping me stay alert-not one bit.

"ANNABETH! Stop sitting around! I'm pretty sure it isn't healthy to be staring at a piece of paper for 4 hours straight without even blinking!" Thalia pouts, barging into my Cabin.

I turn to her –grateful for a distraction (I was seconds away from busting a vein) - and purse my lips.

"Well, I don't think it's healthy to hide the truth!" I shoot back. "What happened yesterday?"

Thalia sighs.

"It was honestly nothing. I just had to tell Mr. D about my orders from Artemis."

She lowers her eyes, playing with her fingers.

"That wasn't what I saw!" I think back to last night when I peeked through the door, I saw Mr. D kissing Thalia, running his fingers through her hair. URGH! _Major 'YUCK'!_

Thalia glares. "He was drunk, and attempted to make a move on me. After he kissed me, I kneed him in the groin', and stomped to the bathroom. Did you see all that too, Annabeth?" she demands.

I bite my lip, feeling like a complete idiot.

"I'm sorry that I thought you were-"

"Forget it!" she shushes me, smiling a little.

"So…what's going to happen to Mr. D?" I whisper, as she hauls me up. We walk out of my Cabin, and stop outside.

She shrugs. "He broke a lot of rules. First of all, he was drinking. Second, he attempted to have his way with me. Third, he broke the rules of 'no seducing minors'. Fourth, I'm the daughter of Zeus, who was the one who set those rules for Mr. D. And fifth, I'm the lieutenant of Artemis, bound to her laws. So to sum it up-"

"Mr. D f'ed up bad." Travis and Connor finish, coming up from behind us.

Thalia glares menacingly at them for eaves dropping, but softens up a little.

She shrugs again. "I'm not bound to Camp anyways, so I don't really care."

She turns back to Travis and Connor.

"What are you guys doing here, again?"

"Meh. Nothing really. We're just heading out to the Pavilion to get something to eat. Oh! And there's a Campfire tonight as well!" Connor reminds us.

Travis winks at us. "Wear something hot!"

While Thal and I stand there, gawking at him, Chiron passes by, and shoots Travis a dirty look.

"Er-wear something…_pretty_" Travis mumbles sheepishly.

When Chiron's far from hearing distance, he slinks to my side, and picks up a lock of hair that was covering my ear like a curtain.

"No, seriously. Wear something hot." He breathes.

"EWW!" I complain, pushing him away.

He backs away, arms raised, grinning.

"GRR! I'm _so_ going to beat him up one of these days." Thalia mutters darkly.

She smiles at me. "Ready to go?"

"Umm…just give me a second…I need my skin to stop crawling. And go where?"

"We have to get ready for the Bonfire party. Yay." She says, deadpanned.

"Wait! I thought this was _just _a stupid Camp fire?"

"Nah. Word's going around it's actually a party…probably planned my Travis. Did you see how excited he looked? Urgh! I bet everyone's going to be there…including Pheme."

And on queue, we both groan loudly.

**Percy's POV**

"You want to go to the party _shirtless_? Are you kidding me?" I screech, pawing through all the clothes in my closet.

"'Course we do! We're at a _party_! Girls ain't gonna get 'nuf!" Connor says, while stuffing his mouth with food.

I sigh, shaking my head.

"If you want to get pneumonia, suit yourselves." I pull out a Camp T-shirt, and a pair of jeans.

"Whatever. More girls for us!" Travis declares, wrapping a Hawaiian Lei necklace around his neck.

Griver just rolls his eyes, and continues munching on his tin cans.

"So, where are we having the party?" Chris asks, with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"On the beach, and it's gonna have a _huge_ bonfire! Best thing is that Chiron will have NO clue! _AND_, Mr. D's in Olympus, so he won't be able to do a thing! Only the coolest of the cool get invited." Travis gushes. Seriously, he _gushed_. Not too manly on his part.

I pause. "Didn't you say before that _everyone _was coming?"

"Course! Only the coolest of the cool are real party animals…and people who like to party like to bring even _more _people for them to party with! So now, basically everyone in Camp knows about this." Travis looked pleased with himself.

"Speaking of which", Grover says, finishing off his tin can and belching. "Shouldn't we be on our way?"

Chris grabs Grover in a headlock, pulling him to the door while he staggered.

"That's right G-Man! Away we go!" Chris hoots.

Soon enough, Travis and Connor follow, hollering random things into the dark.

I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.

_This is gonna be one hell-of-a night._

*********Once they get to the Bonfire*********

It's at full swing by the time we get there.

We hear everyone cheer when Travis enters –shirtless, I might add- and soon enough, he's being whisked away by a bunch of Aphrodite girls. He throws a knowing look at me from behind his shoulder, and grins.

"It's quite a party, isn't it?"

I turn to see Annabeth, her arms entwined behind her, standing on her tip toes, practically leaning forward.

Her hair is a dark, dirty blonde color. She probably had a shower right before she came, so it still splayed against her skin.

She wore her Camp T-shirt, and a pair of jeans, her damp hair tied up into a ponytail.

She pretty much looked like how she always did…but in the glow of the firelight, she looked even better.

"Yeah." I manage to say, and then I smile at her.

Someone clears their throat from behind us, and we both whirl around.

Pheme's standing there expectantly, smiling.

"Hey Percy, Annabeth. It's so nice to see you guys out and about!" She winks at me. "Is she keeping your hands full?"

Annabeth's brow wrinkles and she stares from Pheme to me, and back.

"Oh sure…she's er-pretty much a loaded pistol." I say cheekily. I've _never _been in a relationship or have pretended to be in a relationship before, so I'm probably doing the worst job. EVER.

"Wait—what?" Annabeth asks, raising her eyebrows.

Pheme opens her mouth to say something, but I quickly bend down and kiss Annabeth's neck. It's all I could do to shut Pheme up.

"EWW! Percy! What the hell?" Annabeth sputters, pushing me away from her.

I laugh weakly at Pheme's _very_ fake surprised expression.

"She gets embarrassed easily in public. We save the good stuff for later." I mumble, my face feeling hot.

Pheme stares at me, smirking.

"Of course! You two enjoy yourselves now! There's _plenty _of time for that, later!" She winks at Annabeth, and leaves.

Annabeth turns on me the second Pheme's gone.

"What the hell was _that _about?" she snaps.

"Umm…Pheme sort of thinks that we're in a relationship…and I guess we have to pretend that we are."

Her mouth drops open.

"PERCY! You can't just drop a bomb on me like that! And what if I don't _want _to be in a relationship with you!"

I take a step back, blinking slowly.

"You…don't?"

"NO! Not like _this_! Percy, how _could _you? You probably didn't even bother to think about how I'd feel!"

"I did!" I snap. "And after yesterday, I thought you'd be happy we can be in a relationship!"

She shakes her head hard.

"Yesterday was _different_. I knew it was actually you who was talking; not Audrey, not Pheme…it was all you! Now, it feels as if we're in a relationship based on Pheme and her threats! It doesn't feel right."

I grit my teeth. "I'm sorry that you're angry."

"I'm not angry. Just…disappointed." She sighs, and walks away from me.

For the rest of the time at the party, Annabeth would steer clear of me, always avoiding me.

If it wasn't for the fight that I had with Annabeth, I would have been having a great time at the party.

We huddled around the fire, talking and socializing. We stepped into the freezing cold water, complaining on how cold it was. Someone brought a stereo, and we all ended up dancing; everyone was pretty much having a good time.

That is, until Travis decided to bring a keg of beer.

Everyone started cheering him on, and swarmed the keg with plastic cups.

I look around, and I see it's only me and Annabeth who still stay in our seats. She looks really pale, and eyes wide in disbelief at the alcohol.

"That's it." I murmur. Getting up, I walk over to Travis who was merrily saying "Don't worry! There's plenty for everyone!" and I grab him by his Lei necklace (**Those Hawaiian flower wreaths that they put on you when you go on vacation to Hawaii)**.

"Dude! If you want beer, just _ask_! You don't gotta go grabbing me!" Travis complains.

"Beer?" I hiss. "Travis, do you know how much trouble you can get into…you brought _beer_ into Camp?"

He shrugs, taking a swig from his cup.

"Don't worry about the future, man! It's all about…NOW!" Travis says lazily, grinning as he staggers away.

Great. They're planning to get wasted too. Just. Great.

I sigh, sitting down. This whole thing is getting a little out of control, and in the state Travis is going to be…I have a feeling that suddenly I'm responsible for this whole thing.

"NICO! Get away from there!" I shout.

13 year old Nico is standing uncertainly by the keg, holding out a cup.

I pull him away, and lead him to Grover –who looked fine enough; he didn't want the beer, just the beer cans- and told him to stay away from the keg, or anyone who offers him a drink.

After about half an hour, I find myself sitting next to Annabeth, beat.

"Hey." I murmur. She looks at me, her eyes blazing off the reflection of the firelight. She nods once, crosses her arms, and stares back at the fire.

"Look, I'm sorry that I-"

"Here's the love couple!" Pheme crows, staggering slightly towards us.

I can tell right of the back that she isn't even 1% drunk; that knowing glint in her eyes' still there; she doing this all for show.

"Hi Pheme." Annabeth mutters, turning away from the both of us.

She coughs a little, and then, heaves herself up into one of the chairs,

I stare at her, mortified. _What in Hades does she think she's doing?_

"Everyone!" She calls out, tapping her beer can. "EVERYONE!" she shouts, making everyone in a 5 feet radius from her jump.

"So!" she begins, slurring her words a little. "I think we should make…make…a toast!"

People holler back at her, and raise their cups.

"2 of our main superstars in Camp have recently started to date. I think that it's fair to say that we should at least witness them kiss!" She cheers.

Annabeth stares her down. "What kind of toast is _that_?"

"A freaking awesome one, honey! Now just kiss already!" She leers mockingly.

"Come on, Annabeth. Just once." I mutter under my breath.

She turns to me and glares, and raises her chin.

"NO!" She bellows, loud and clear.

"No?" Pheme repeats, raising her eyebrow.

"NO! This whole thing is so stupid! We're _not _in a relationship! It's just you and you're stupid blackmails that make us do what we don't want to do! Well, I'm through with this! So what if I slept overnight at Percy's Cabin? We didn't do anything! So what if Percy walked in on me while I was changing? Everyone knows now, so you can't do a thing about it! So what do you have that you can hold against us _now_? Nothing! So just _please _leave me alone! I'm sick of all this!"

Annabeth stands up, glaring at Pheme. Turning on her heels, she begins to stomp away, but freezes almost immediately.

"Oh Gods." She says faintly, closing her eyes.

We all turn in her direction, and almost everyone gasps.

Chiron's standing there, looking angry.

"Whose idea was it, to have a party in the middle of the night, off Camp ground?" He says quietly.

It doesn't help when Travis –still shirtless, only now has a couple of lipstick marks on his arms and torso- stumbles into Chiron, the beer in his cup splashing out.

"Dude, just chill out! Here, have a drink!" he says, thrusting the cup at Chiron.

"Oh no." Chris mutters, shaking his head.

Chiron cautiously raises the cup to his nose, and sniffs. That very moment, he drops the cup, eyes wide in disbelief, and stares around.

"WHOSE. IDEA. WAS IT?" He roars, outraged.

Everyone's silent. Sighing, knowing that I can't get into as much trouble as I already am in, I step forward.

"It was my idea, sir." I say clearly. I look to the side and I see Annabeth gaping at me.

Chiron puts a hand on my shoulder, sighing. "Big House. Now, Percy." He looks around, and spots Annabeth too. "You slept in another Cabin than your own?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Yes." Annabeth squeaks, her fist clenched. "But I swear; it will never, _ever_ happen again." She glares at me, and I shrink back.

"I'm afraid that you'll have to come with me too, Annabeth. The rest of you, it can wait until morning. Before than, I want this place spotless."

Annabeth hangs her head down low, and stands by my side.

"Nice going, Kelp Head." She hisses.

"You too, Wise Girl." I whisper back.

"Let's go." Chiron says sternly, leading us to the Big House.

This is just _fantastic_.

**Ok; Done this chapter! I'm thinking it's a little too OOC, but I can always fix that in the next chapter! And it's also a little non-Percabeth . Once again, hopefully it will be better later on! :) Please review! Tell me what you think so far!**


	17. NOT Fair at ALL!

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**Annabeth's POV**

This is unbelievable! _And _very unfair.

Of course, I can't blame the Kelp Head too harshly; he wasn't the one who threw the party, but he's still taking the blame.

Chiron made us sit on the 'Bench of Shame' as he calls it, while he paces back and forth.

I sit as far away from Percy as I can, hoping that he could see how angry I am.

Finally, Chiron stops pacing, and stares at us.

Percy immediately looks down, but I stare back at him, trying to plead him with my eyes to see the unfairness in this whole situation.

"You two have gotten yourselves into quite a lot of trouble these past years…" He begins.

"—Oh Come _ON_! This is so biased! Chiron, I thought that you were the nice one! Please; just try to see the circumstances from my view."

Chiron ponders this.

"Alright, then. The reason you're here is because you willingly allowed yourself to sleep in another demigod's Cabin, which is _strictly _forbidden. And you, whom have been at this Camp for exactly 10 years, should have known better. And Percy attended another fellow's party –which you did too, I might add-, and yet still took the blame for it. Does that really sound fair, in your opinion?"

"_Ohhhhh! BURNED!_" I hear Travis' voice coming from the window, and then a loud _BANG_, followed shortly by an '_OWWW!_'

"_Ok. Who's idea was it to bring Travis?"_ Grover's voice seeped through the direction of the window.

"_I dunno. Don't look at me." _Connor mumbles.

"_TRAVIS! You idiot!" _Thalia hisses.

"_Do you think they heard us?"_ Chris whispers.

"_Hey guys! Okay…why are you hiding in a bush?" _Rachel trills, probably on a random walk outside.

"_Rachel? Oh…we're…not doing anything! Ok this is stupid-obviously, the bush isn't the best hiding spot." _Thalia huffs.

"_Travis MOVE!" _Chris hisses, and there's some scuffling.

"_I can't! I think I'm stuck…" _Travis yelled back. More shifting and noises.

"_You're too big!" _Thalia groans.

"_That's what SHE said."_ Travis points out.

Another big _BANG _and Travis muffles a noise between a cry and a moan.

"_What the HADES? What's with you and giving me black eyes! URGH!"_ **(Thalia gave Travis 2 black eyes in Chapter 15 because he was acting like…well, himself xD)**

"_Seriously. Why are you guys hiding in a bush?" _Rachel demands.

"_Are you guys POSITIVE that they won't be able to hear us?" _Chris mumbles.

"_Who won't be able to hear you?" _Rachel asks.

"_Let's just get out of the damn bush first! Gods, this is humiliating." _Thalia grumbles.

"_Anyone got a tin can on them? I'm starving!" _Grover complains.

"_EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP! I'm stuck in a freaking bush!" _Travis shouts.

"_You're the one to talk; you started this whole thing with screaming out!_" Chris points out.

"_Hey, it was only 'cuz Chiron burned Annabeth! Oooohhh, she got owned!"_

"_I'm beginning to think that they can hear us…"_Grover mumbles.

"_Oh! You mean the people inside? When I got a tour of this place, Chiron said that the walls were hard to knock over, but listening wise, they're paper thin! So they can hear you out here, just as easily as you can here them in there!" _Rachel points out.

And she's right. This whole time, we've been silently listening to their silly conversation. Percy's trying to muffle his laughter and his smiles by covering his mouth.

Chiron's just sitting their, stone still. But, I _swear_ I saw his mouth twitch into a smile for a few seconds.

When there's still dead silence on the other end of the window, Chiron quietly gets up, and walks over to the window.

"Oh, I wonder who it could be." Percy mutters sarcastically to me.

I would usually roll my eyes and smile at that sort of thing, but instead I make a point of turning around to face the other way, giving him the cold shoulder.

There's more scuffling outside, and then voices.

It was really awkward and quiet once Chiron left; it was just Percy and I in the silent room.

"So, you're ignoring me now? Because I was cornered into saying we were in a relationship, even though everyone knew we were getting there soon? Well, everyone knew that but _you_." Percy adds.

"And _you_." I can't help but defend myself. "And no. I'm ignoring you because you didn't even bother to consider all the other options." I don't say anything else, and I wait for him to speak.

He's a stuttering, outraged mess. "W-w-w-what _other _options? Okay, how about _you_ get interrogated by Pheme, and let's see how _you_ handle it!"

"Well, if I was you I'd consider _any _other option. Say if you _didn't _say that we're a couple. Pheme would send out that picture…" I trail off, realizing there isn't any other options.

"And?" Percy asks, smirking slightly. The smirk gets me angry; it isn't that cute, amused smirk he always has on. It's mocking, pitying and…just not what I'm looking for right now.

I press my lips together, and turn away.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" Percy pouts, leaning forward.

I lean away, and I look anywhere else but at him.

"I'm ignoring you."

His pouts gone and a cold smile replaces his face.

"Oh, and you're doing a great job of it."

I sigh softly, patiently waiting for Chiron to come back while tuning out the Kelp Head.

"Tell me." Percy says after a thoughtful silence. "Do you love me?"

I whirl around and I stare at him.

"Why would you ask me something like that?" I ask neutrally.

He laughs bitterly. "I told _you_ that I loved you once. And what did you say? You told me to go away. And now when I act cold, you seem all defenseless, as if you don't deserve any of it."

I was about to reply (not really knowing what to say), but someone clears their throat from behind me.

I turn around and I see Chiron. Behind him are Thalia, Grover, Chris, Connor…and Travis…who was still stuck in that bush.

"Nice outfit." Percy points out, his voice gruff.

"Thanks." Travis says wryly, putting a hand on his hip and striking a pose. "I'm looking at fashion in a new angle."

Chiron sighs impatiently.

"I don't think any of you realized how big your actions were. Or how big the consequences can be."

"Oh come ON, Chiron!" Chris pleads.

"Yeah! I thought that _you _were the nice one!" Travis demands.

"That's exactly what she said." Percy says, nodding his head in my direction.

Travis turns to me, and flashes me a grin.

Chiron huffs, crossing his arms.

"My personality does _not _matter in this situation. In a problem like this, it's Mr. D's call for the consequences. However, since he is not here, I am to take his place."

He attempts to give us the menacing look that usually Mr. D gives us, but ends up failing. We all crack a smile; it wasn't in Chiron's nature to look so evil.

He sighs, resigned.

"Alright, alright. You've got me; I'm no good as the bad cop. BUT; there will still be consequences to your actions."

I look around, eyes wide, meeting everyone else'…everyone's eyes but Percy's, who wouldn't look my way.

"It's not going to be _too _drastic, is it?" Thalia asks, crossing her arms, rocking the ultimate look of rebellion.

Chiron sighs again. "Under these circumstances, it won't." He gestured around, at us all. "You all are the ones who've saved Olympus, so there's no real way that I can punish you badly. BUT, it looks bad…_very _bad that the Gods heroes were out drinking booze and partying on Camp grounds."

I was about to open my mouth to say that I wasn't drinking, but the moment I opened my mouth, Percy whips his head in my direction, giving me a hard look.

It clearly said '_don't make this any worse on everyone else than you've already had.'_

I stiffly turn around without replying. I lost all my anger and fight; and I knew it was wrong to take it out on Percy.

"So, what do we have to do?" I whisper, my head pulsing.

**Percy's POV**

Clean up duty? _Seriously?_

It was just this morning that I had to clean up after everyone in the Arena!

Woah…that was just this morning? It seems way longer.

Back to my rant; I come to practice late, and I have to clean up after everyone. Travis throws a huge off-limit bonfire party, becomes everyone's hero, and brings _BEER_ into Camp, and he gets the same punishment I did this morning?

Come on! Does that seriously sound fair?

We quietly leave the Big House, but as soon as we step out the doors, we begin bursting out into frustrated conversation.

I'm with Grover and Chris, half listening to them complain. But, as I nod to whatever they're saying, I can't stop my eyes from drifting to Annabeth.

She's walking silently by herself, deep in thought.

I wondered if I should go talk to her; would she still be mad? Or is she trying to find a way to apologize?

At that moment, Travis sneaks up behind her, and shuts her eyes with his hands.

I'm close enough for hearing distance. "Guess who—ooo?" he sing-songs cheerfully.

She smiles knowingly, and ducks away from his hands, and then turns to face him.

"What do you want, Travis?" Annabeth demands.

"You're gonna be my cleaning bud-dy!" He keeps using that sing-song voice…getting a little annoying.

"HEY!" Connor protests, joining the two of them. "Dude, I thought we always stick together!"

"If we stick together any longer, people will think we're…together. _Together_." He replies, emphasizing 'together'.

"Ew."

"Definitely."

Connor turns to me, and I quickly whip my head around, before Annabeth sees that I was staring at her again.

"Yo Perce-ay! You're with me for this."

I shrug, attempting to play it cool. Isn't it usually Annabeth and I who partner up for this type of thing? Well…I'm guessing it's best to leave her alone when she's like this.

I glance at Annabeth, and I see her rolling her eyes, and trying to hide a smile with her hand, laughing at some random thing Travis said. Doesn't she only do that with _me_?

Thalia interrupts my thoughts.

"Too bad, Connor. I'm with Prissy."

"_WHAT?_ _YOU_ want to be with _ME_?" I ask, while my jaw drops.

I glance hesitantly at everyone else, who has the same expression as me. Annabeth's staring hard at Thalia, clearly confused.

Thalia glances at everyone as well, and shrugs at our reaction.

"What? It'll be like good ol' times." She attempts to smile brightly, but it turns into a grimace.

"Uh-huh…"I say suspiciously.

She stares challengingly back at me.

"Guess you're with me, G-Man!" Chris says brightly, trying to break the awkwardness.

"And Connor can stick with us." Annabeth finishes, still staring at Thalia.

"Good, then it all works out. I'm sure this will be just _great_." Thalia says, giving me a hard look.

I gulp.

**Annabeth's POV**

"SO, what's up with you and Prissy?"

Travis leans casually against a tree, and stares at me.

"None of _your _business, Travis." I mutter darkly. "And his names Percy…"

"Tomato, toe-mat-o." He says matter-of-factly.

"Seriously Annabeth! We're here to help…what's gotten into you guys?" Connor asks, fiddling with a plastic garbage bag.

"Trust me. I _don't _need a psychiatrist. And even if I did, it honestly wouldn't be you guys. If I needed a guy to talk to, it would be Grover."

"We're _helpful!_" Travis insisted. "Grover would probably be too busy munching on tin cans to pay any real attention; we're more mature."

"HEY!" Connor exclaimed, rooting through a bush. "I found 20 bucks!"

Travis perked his ears, and stared at Connor.

"What?"

Connor pulls out the bill, waving it triumphantly. _"Finders keepers, loser's weepers!"_

"MINEE!" Travis sprints, tackling Connor, and attempts to grab the money out of his fist.

"TO BAD! Find your own!" Connor complained, holding onto his money for dear life.

I roll my eyes.

"Mature? Yeah right…_real _mature, you guys."

I begin to walk away, but their noise dies down.

"Annabeth…" Travis calls out. His voice sounds serious –as serious as it can be, when it comes to the Stoll Brothers.

I turn around and peer at them over my shoulder.

"Percy seriously loves you. And we all know that you love him too…everyone except him. If you were him, wouldn't you think it would be nice to know too?"

I press my lips together, staring at the brothers for a long moment. Finally, I nod silently, and I walk back to Camp.

**Percy's POV**

"What did you say to her? Why are you two fighting?"

Thalia's holding me by the shoulders, shaking me roughly. She glares at me determinedly, her icy blue eyes flashing.

"I thought you said you wanted to be my partner so we can experience the good ol' times again!" I groan weakly.

"I _LIED_." She brings her face up close to mine, our noses almost touching. If it were any other girl, it would be awkward, and I would probably think of it as her coming on to me…but with Thalia, I basically thought '_Holy Zeus this chick is gonna zap me!'_

I stared back at her helplessly, trying to put on my best kicked-puppy look.

She sighs, and lets me go.

"God, you two are so blind." She perches onto a very low tree branch, swinging her legs.

"_She's _the one who's blind! I already _told _her I love her!"

Thalia whirled around to face me intently.

"You _did_? WHEN? And how'd she react?"

"Percy…you told Annabeth that you love her? FINALLY!" Rachel comes out of nowhere, smirking triumphantly.

"_Rachel? _How long have you been here?"

She shrugs, smiling. "Long enough to see that Thalia's harassing tactics actually paid off."

Thalia blinks, and just shakes her head at Rachel's random timing.

"Back to what we were talking about; you told Annabeth that you _loved _her?"

"Yeah." I say as bitterly as I can. "She basically told me to screw off."

"Ouch. That's harsh." Rachel piped up, frowning.

"That doesn't sound like Annabeth…unless you ticked her off. And let me guess; you ticked her off?"

"Mhhmm…but it was all Audrey's fault!" I explain to them Audrey's threat, glad that she isn't our biggest enemy anymore. Actually, I'm sad she isn't out enemy; Pheme's way worse than Audrey.

Thalia and Rachel listen silently, only twiddling their fingers or playing with their hair while I speak.

"I see." Thalia says at last.

"Percy, Annabeth LOVES you! She was just upset that time!" Rachel exclaims.

"But you won't believe it until she's the one who says it, right?" Thalia asks.

I nod mutely.

"So what would she say if I told her I loved her, right now?"

Thalia frowned at me.

"This is a really…_delicate _situation, Percy. This wouldn't be the best time to say that."

"Then _WHEN_?"

"You'll know when the moments right, Perce." Rachel says sympathetically. I didn't want her sympathy.

"I'm going back to Camp…I don't feel well." I say pathetically.

They both nod, throwing worried looks at each other.

**Annabeth's POV**

I'm sitting outside the Poseidon Cabin, waiting for Percy to come back.

It's relaxing here. I take a deep breath of fresh air, which smells like the ocean-blue sea…like Percy.

I sigh, leaning my head against the door, and I shift my sore legs.

"Annabeth."

I could recognize that voice anywhere. It has the effect it always has on me; surprise, anticipation, anxiety, longing, and love.

"Mother…" I say breathlessly. I quickly stand up, not sure if I should hug her or something.

She reads my thoughts and smiles slightly, raising her arms.

I walk over to her, and she wraps her long arms around me.

It isn't that bad being hugged by her; it isn't too awkward, but isn't particularly a mother-daughter-moment either. That's what you get for having a mom who's a Goddess.

She pulls away slightly, and clutches my forearms.

"I have some news for you." She says seriously, her mouth in a grim line.

"Good news or bad news?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Her mouth twitches for a second, and she raises an eyebrow as well, looking like an exact replica of me.

"It depends on how you see it." She says.

I take a deep breath, and I decide to hold it until I hear the news.

"Alright. What is it?"

Just as my mom was about to speak, she was cut off.

"Annabeth? …_ATHENA?_" I hear Percy's voice emerging from the woods, and there he is, barging out of the darkness, towards us.

My mom pulls me behind her and looks at Percy. I peek over her shoulder to see that he looks completely bewildered. His mouth forms my name just as we disappear.

**Percy's POV**

Was that weird…or was that weird?

I was just heading back to my Cabin, and there I see Annabeth, sitting on the steps of it.

Not doing anything. Just…sitting there…waiting for me?

I was about to walk over to her, but then- BAM. Athena's suddenly there and then she and Annabeth are hugging.

Now I felt uncomfortable; I didn't really want to ruin this moment, since I know how rare it is that Annabeth gets to see her mom.

They talk a bit, but I can't take it anymore.

They're in front of _my _Cabin, and if I stay in my spot any longer, I'll seem like some sort of creep.

So, I pretend that I was just coming out, and I call their names.

Now, Athena shoves Annabeth behind her, and gives me a blank stare. It was one of those things that Annabeth would do. She would just look at you, and size you up. It was pretty intimidating, and that was one of the things I fear about her.

SO here I am, pretty much wetting myself as Athena stares me down.

I was just about to call out for Annabeth again, and WOOOSH—she's gone, evaporated with her mom.

I'm pacing back and forth in my room now. Where'd she go? Why'd she go?

I glance at the clock; it's been half an hour. Way too long.

Grabbing my jacket, I open the door to go to the Big House, when I see Annabeth on my steps again. Like before, she was just sitting there.

"Annabeth! Are you ok?"

She looks up, alarmed. Then, she looks around, and blinks.

"Oh…yeah I am, sorry." She looks at me, and I'm surprised to see that all the anger that was in her eyes a couple of hours ago was gone. It was empty and dazed and…full of regret?

"Hey…" I say softly, reaching for her.

She snaps out of her daze, and jerks back, shaking her head.

"I-I should go." She says, lowering her eyes.

I grab at her arm. "What happened with you and Athena?"

Annabeth's wide grey eyes stare back at me, doing the staring thing that Athena did.

"Nothing did." She says firmly, 100% confident. "Nothing."

She pulls her arm free, and begins to walk away, but stops, her back to me.

I'm standing there silently, wondering what's going on.

Then, as quick as a flash, she runs back to me and kisses my cheek, and just like that…she's gone.

I stand there for a while, my fingers on the spot on my face that she kissed.

I don't know what's going on with her.

But I'm damn sure that I'll figure it out.

**It's been a MONTH since I've updated. A MONTH!**

**I'm sorry you guys…but you know what time it is when January arrives….EXAM TIME! *Groans* But, this week I finished all my exams (Having a couple of crying breakdowns from stress, here and there) and I had the whole week off! :D BUT, I have to go to school tomorrow to see how well I did on them…I HOPE I DID GOOD! :D**

**ALSO! I think I MAY be ending this story in a while :S NOT TOO SOON! But I'd probably stop at a chapter 25-ish…nothing above 30! chapters 0_o **

**So tell me whatcha think so far! Now that exams are over, I'll be sue to update more! I apologize again you guys :( I also had a HUGEEE writers block! :( But then, I passed it and I know where I want to go with this story…SO YAAY! : D**

**REVIEWS PLEASE! ; D**


	18. Be Strong & Be Brave

**ReadrOfBooks; Ahha! Thanks! :) Unfortunately, my friend got the Hunger Games T-shirt the very day that Mocking jay came out :( There was this big sale at Indigo (book store) and it was selling new releases of Mocking jay, along with Shirts and Mocking jay pins and stuff :( I wanted a Mockingjay pin, but she refused to give up her only pin-and I can understand that ;)**

**Candy0304; Thanks! And I did do well on my exams—which was surprising! 0_o I scored a 91% average (An A)—And now I don't have to worry for another 4 months (the next exams are in June) ;)**

**Amelia; Aww thankyou! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while :(**

**Lynnnnyl; LOL! Yikes! I haven't updated in a while; really sorry about that! :_(**

**Olympian1999; YAY! I'm glad I'm not dead xD Well, you probably thought that again after how long I haven't updated…but rest assure! I'm clearly not dead! ;D**

**alexandriarulzforeva; Yup! Just updated ;)**

**Whichamacallit5; AWW! THANKYOU! :D Well; you'll definitely find out what Annabeth talked to Athena about by the end of this chap! :) Thanks again!**

**Percabeth13; Noooo! Don't die! xD There's more to come! I'll be sure 2 update soon :)**

**AnnabethPercy; Aww! You're review made me grin; I think that Rick Riordan is an AMAZING author, and your comment made my day-at the risk of sounding pathetic ;D**

**; YOUR awesome! xD**

**bookgroupie; I'm sorry about the Cliffhanger! xD I sometimes have a habit of doing that…Thanks for the review! :)**

**AnnabethIsTheBest; Thanks for the review! :D And of course-you'll know what she said by the end of this chapter! :)**

**iceskatesk; LOOOOL! Your comment made me laugh the most; I can so imagine that! xD**

**Percabeth; Ahha, you don't know HOW MANY people have said that before xD**

** kraziladyt321; LOL after reading PJO a gazillion times, I've learnt to always say "GodS –with an S-" too!**

**C-Nuggets N.L; Nooo! Now it's March! D: I'm sorry! :_( I'll try updating a lot more quickly! :) Thanks for the review!**

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**percabethobsessed33: I know~! I'm really sorry! :( And also; ahhaa! Thanks! xD I'll update more quicker—I promise! And ALSO—NOO! I can NEVER resist puppy dog eyes! You know my Achilles heel...how could you? Ahaaa! xD**

**JordanMathias, Readermillions girl, ****SeaweedBrain113097, Thunder 48, Percabeth fan, Elena Fisher, GothicNicoLuver, SkylerPhoenix, Percabeth, and iluvsourskittles,****; Thank you EVERYONE! xD Your reviews are AMAZINGLY awesome, and you're best reviewers anyone could have! :) I'll attempt to update more in the near future! :D**

**WOW. I rewrote this whole chapter 3 TIMES! 3****rd**** time's a charm? :)**

**Percy's POV**

I'm sitting at a table in the Dining Pavilion, pointedly ignoring everyone's imploring stares.

They must've not taken the hint, and probably thought I was just distracted, since they didn't' stop staring at me.

"OK, that's it! What did you two say to each other?" Grover pleads.

I stare at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"Percy, stop playing dumb!" Thalia growls.

I sigh, leaning my forehead onto the table.

"We didn't say anything to each other." I mumble, lying.

The whole table explodes with groans and complains. **('The whole table' is basically the people they hang out with; Thalia, Grover, Chris, Travis & Connor)**

"Did the intense talks that we had with each of you not work…AT _ALL_?" Chris asks incredulously.

I lift my head and gawk at him.

"You gave Annabeth the same…_talk _that you gave me?" I ask in horror, remembering how Thalia basically shook all living life out of me, trying to get me to cough up.

Connor and Travis open their mouths to speak, but just then, Annabeth comes, holding a tray full of food.

"Hey Thalia, guys…Percy." She finishes, smiling at me.

Everyone there raises their eyebrow –I _swear_- at the same time.

"Hey Annabeth." Grover replies cautiously.

She sits down next to me, and pulls out a book; _Greek Architecture_.

Awkward silence, awkward silence…and a few more awkward silences pass by.

"So, how are you?" Thalia asks, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. All eyes –including mine- are trained on Annabeth…what's up with her?

Annabeth sighs contently, and leans her chin against the palm of her hand.

"I'm pretty good right now. Urgh! Clarisse gave my cabin a 2/5 for neatness…and I was to blame." She adds sheepishly, rolling her eyes.

"…I see." Thalia gives me a baffled look, and I return it with a one-shouldered shrug. Why was Annabeth acting like…well, herself?

It was good –Amazing, actually- and all, but where's the torturous silent treatment? The suspicious look that she's had all summer? Its pretty much all gone; POOF!

"Hey there, my peeps! Oh, and hey Annabeth!" Rachel chirps, with Nico in tow.

Annabeth smiles at them both, and turns back to her book. I watch as she lifts her hand unconsciously to twirl a lock of hair.

I see Clarisse enter the Dining Pavilion, search around with her eyes, and finally spots Chris with us. If she's surprised to see Annabeth with us, she gives no sign.

"Hey Rachel, got any quests for me? I haven't heard one in a _while_." Clarisse demands, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

"Of course, since we all love a good, life-threatening quest, don't we?" Annabeth responds wryly, raising her head to stare directly at me, a faint teasing smirk on her face.

"'Course. This bad boy can't get 'nuff." I mumble sarcastically, jerking my thumb at myself. Her…normalness…was too hard to ignore. What happened last night?

Annabeth half-laughs at that, and then faces Rachel and Clarisse with bright eyes.

"So, you still want to take that quest?"

"You guys just reminded me of the Labyrinth…maybe not just yet…" Clarisse mutters hoarsely, and sits beside Chris, leaning slightly into him.

Chris winces slightly, and we all look at the ground, remembering.

"Well then…that settles that." Thalia yawns, stretching.

Travis grins at me impishly. I think I know where this is going…

"Hey Perce…why don't _you _ask for a quest? I dare you!"

"Why me?"

"Because of all the drama you've had this summer…I wanna find out how you can end it!"

I gape at him. Is he serious?

"Face-Palm." Chris murmurs neutrally, and everyone buries their faces into their palms. Travis ducks his head, but still smiles at me challengingly.

I slowly turn to see Annabeth's reaction, and I see she's still smiling…but now it looks a little uneasy.

"Go ahead, Seaweed Brain…I'm kind of curious…" She's faking it. She doesn't want to know.

I laugh warily. "Nah, I don't really want to know." Annabeth not-wanting to know makes me want to know what the quest is about even more, but I still lie.

"Percy! You're _such _a bad liar. Just ask for the flipping quest!" Rachel laughs, shaking her head.

Yeah…you can see that _I _want to know what the quest is…but what about Annabeth? It's obvious that she's lying!

I stare at Annabeth, and she has her usual half-smirk plastered on her face. I take a deep breath; It's my call about this quest.

I think of all the times we've had; I've learnt to master her every move and expression and interpret it. And right now, she's tensed. She's puts up a good poker-face though…

"Percy, it's _just _a quest. And I'm pretty sure this one isn't going to be life threatening."

I sigh; I give in to the curiosity.

Standing up –and scraping my chair a little loudly- I sigh and look directly at Rachel.

A hush falls across the Pavilion –eaves droppers! - And all eyes are on me.

"Oh humble, majestic Oracle." I begin, earning a few snickers. My palms are starting to clam up.

Rachel rolls her eyes and mutters, "Can you be any slower?"

I sigh, bracing myself.

"What the Hades is happening around Camp and what's going to happen by the end of it?"

"Nice way to phrase it, Prissy." Clarisse mutters.

Basically what I meant to say was, "What's going to happen between me and Annabeth, and why is she acting weird?", but I can't really say that while the whole Camp –and Annabeth- are watching my every move.

We wait to hear what Rachel says.

And we wait.

And we wait some more.

But nothing super-natural occurs.

"Well than, I guess it isn't part of your fate to know what happens." Rachel shrugs, and that's that.

I turn around to see Annabeth's face, but by the time I turn around, her eyes are wide, her lips parted, dread written all over her face.

I was about to ask what's wrong, but just then, a raspy voice breathes my name.

I slowly turn around, and I see Rachel…in her creepy Oracle of Delphi form. You know, glowing green eyes, scary voice…the usual.

"_Achilles heel; you may have, you may not,_

_But thy heart is truly invincible,_

_It can only be caught._

_Love is patient, Love can shine,_

_And further more, it is truly divine._

_To leave thy heart,_

_It's her call indeed,_

_The child of Athena may be smart,_

_But it's what is inside that you must heed."_

**(YEAH YEAH! I know it barely gives anything away, and that my Quest-making-skills pretty much fail…but I've been giving up on pretty much the first sentence for the past 2 and a half weeks…)**

Rachel's eyes slowly fade back to her original green; turning from a full out fire to its burning embers.

"That's it?" I ask incredulously.

Rachel looked offended.

"HEY! This is tiring work; be happy that you've got something rather than _nothing_."

"And what exactly do we _'have'_"?"

"Well, it mentioned Achilles heel; so, genius, that's _you_." Thalia said, rolling her eyes.

"And then it mentioned the Child of Athena…I pretty sure that we can all guess who thatis." Grover offered.

Everyone turned to Annabeth, and her tanned skin looked pale.

"Wise Girl? Do _you _know what the Quest meant?" I ask cautiously.

She looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her eyes wide, her mouth small and pressed together, a distressed look written all over her face.

"I…I…I have to go!" she blurts out, and bolts out of the Pavilion.

"Oh, Annabeth. She can never drop the martyr act for even one second." Rachel sighs, making eye contact with Thalia.

Thalia nods. "We'll go see what's up with her-HEY! What are _you _looking at?" Thalia growls at the rest of the Camp, who was intently listening to our "private" conversation.

They quickly scatter, pretending to not hear, and some have the grace to look a little shameful.

She turns back to me, her eyes hard.

"Percy…if you're hiding something from us, we'll find out…one way or the other."

I swallow a forming lump in my throat; what _was _Athena doing here last night?

"Come on Rachel."

**Annabeth's POV**

I sigh dejectedly and slouch against the door of my cabin.

_Jeez, Annabeth! Melodramatic, much?_ I sigh, taking a deep breath and letting it out.

It's not like this is all a surprise to me…I've known since yesterday. BUT- I didn't expect to hear a quest about it, much less Percy and everyone else hearing it.

"Annabeth? Open up! We know you're in there." Thalia's voice echo's outside as she raps her knuckles onto the door.

I softly walk over to the door, and open it with a big, fake smile.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

They stare at me solemnly; it was only Rachel who raised an eyebrow.

"Why'd you run out of the Dining Pavilion?" she inquires.

I press my lips together, and stare at my fingers.

We all refuse to speak next, so it's just us standing there in silence.

"Alright…"I begin, closing my eyes.

"I'll spill."

**Percy's POV**

"Oh-kay. What just happened?" Travis asks, frowning.

Grover –who was chewing on a plastic fork- shrugs.

"I don't know, ask Perce…or wait, maybe he's in shock." He waves his half eaten fork in front of my face, making me blink.

"Wait…what?" I look around, a little dazed.

"Oh, forget it." Chris says dismissively.

"What we have to figure out is what Rachel's 'Prophecy' means."

"Oh, that's obvious!" Connor scoffs.

We lapse into silence.

"Well?" Grover asks Conner.

"I thought I knew…but I actually don't." Connor mutters.

"This is pointless…" Chris stretches out, yawning.

I stroll lazily to my window, and I stare out of it, hoping to see Annabeth.

Instead, I see Thalia and Rachel.

They looked a little stunned and pale. Immediately, I have a sudden hunch that something's wrong.

I open the door, and run outside.

They spot me coming, and instantly stiffen.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask breathlessly. The others follow me out of the Cabin, and are listening intently.

Thalia stares at me, and so does Rachel.

"Nothing...and everything" Rachel says at last.

They exchange looks –Urgh! I can't decode those silent conversations that girls have by only using their eyes! - And then they walk separate ways, as if nothing's happened at all.

Nothing really as happened… at the same time, everything has.

**Annabeth's POV**

*********FLASHBACK!*****

"_Mother, what am I doing here?" I ask, looking around nervously._

_We're in the throne room, and it's eerily quiet. Athena's in full battle gear, and quite frankly—it's making me pretty nervous._

_She reads my thoughts and half-smiles at me, a bit of her poker face gone._

"_I guess this isn't the best place to talk…" She stares at me, those grey eyes flitting through my every thought as I tremble._

"_I have just the place…"She mused, holding out a hand._

_I stare at her hand, not missing a beat, and immediately hold onto it with just the slightest hesitation._

_WHOOOOOSHHHH!_

_We've teleported to…well, I don't really know where._

_It's dawn wherever this is, and the sun is rising; it's just an orange and pink light that fills the dark sky in the distance._

_I glance at my mom; her battle gear is gone. Instead, she wears blue jeans, and a casual white T-shirt._

"_Alright…where in Hades are we?" I ask her._

_She raises an eyebrow, and simply stares at something behind me._

_As if in a dream, I slowly turn around, and my eyes go wide._

"_The Parthenon? Oh my Gods! We're in GREECE!" I screech._

_Without thinking, I turn around and I fling my arms around Athena._

_I'm as tall as she is; I've never noticed this. Quickly, I jump back, my face probably red in embarrassment._

_Only later, do I realize that when I hugged her, she had lightly wrapped her arms around me, slightly hugging me back._

_She stares at me, the little bit of enthusiasm in her eyes slowly fading away._

"_Annabeth…we have to talk."_

_The way she said it had sent my heart racing and my palms clamming up._

"_Aright." I say neutrally, copying her straight face. "Let's talk."_

_We walk a little bit closer to the Parthenon, stepping over stones, and finally we were just outside it. I lean against a pillar, breathing in the air and wisdom that's held in the massive temple._

****Important Scene!*****

"_Last summer…once the Great Prophecy was completed, the Gods had bestowed their gifts on you and all other Half Bloods. As you remember, I had blessed you with the job of creating the new Olympus."_

_I look down, biting my lip. This summer, I wasn't supposed to be going to Camp; instead, I would be spending it working on Olympus. BUT-I got cold feet at the last minute._

_How could I spend all summer way up in Olympus? Away from Percy? I've NEVER spent a year away from Camp either-it's basically my home. Instead, I had delayed the rebuilding, and I brushed the problems out of my head._

_I had enough problems to deal with already; Pheme, Audrey, and Percy…_

"_Exactly." Athena said as her eyes hardened. "As you may have known…I dislike Perseus from the start."_

"_BUT—" I began._

"—_And then I learned that he was actually capable of exceeding my views of him, and that he wasn't just a Son of Poseidon. He proved me wrong, and as irritating as that was, he was right._

_On the other hand, Aphrodite has been keeping us in touch with 'Camp Gossip', and believe it or not, the Gods DO____read Audrey's blog. After seeing everything you've been through…I change my mind about what I think of Perseus._

_When it comes to you, he turns cowardly and indecent. Though I'm not suppose to be overly concerned with my children, I can not sit around and __**watch**__ as a son of __**Poseidon**__ takes advantage over you. "_

_My head starts to pulse and I blink away my growing panic._

"_So, what are you going to do about that?" I ask calmly, fighting to keep the distress out of my voice._

"_You will spend the rest of your summer in Olympus, rebuilding." She stares at me, waiting for my reaction._

_I blink. "There's only about 2 weeks of summer left…" I frown at her._

_She's dead still._

"_What I meant was that you would be spending however long it takes to rebuild Olympus…I would have to say, maybe the next 5 to 10 summers building._

"_5 to 10 YEARS?" I shout. "ARE YOU-" I was about to say 'insane', but I backtracked quickly._

"_Are you…serious?" I reply quietly._

_She stares serenely at me._

"_It's only for your own good, Annabeth. You will be spending the next decade of summer planning and rebuilding. It will help you get away from this mess; you will learn so much more than you already know. And I swear to you, you will become an even bigger achiever than Daedalus ever was."_

"_An even bigger achiever than Daedalus ever was…"I repeat faintly. I waver for a second, but then I shake myself out of it._

"_I'll be in my mid-twenties by then…those years of my life will all be wasted…"I reply, frustrated._

_She puts a soothing hand on my shoulder._

"_They won't be wasted, Annabeth. You will learn SO much. Yet, if that is the only thing that is troubling you, we could let you stay 17 until your work in Olympus is done. Once it is over, you can resume living, and growing older."_

'_BUT THAT ISN'T THE ONLY THING TROUBLING ME!', I wanted to scream…but instead, I just nodded._

"_I just have one question." I say, allowing a little bit of anger into my voice._

_Athena looks at me, and nods seriously._

"_Do I have any say in this?"_

_I wait for her answer, already dreading it._

"_I could sugar-coat this all I want, but I know you are clever enough to see through it all. You know how severe it is to refuse a God's wish. Perseus did, but we had been in his debt at that time. For you though, we NEED an architect; Olympus is still in rubble, and you are the only one who would be fit for this job. I'm not sorry for this; it is time you realize your destiny, Annabeth Chase."_

_I open my mouth to speak, trying to use some last-attempt words to make this better, but instead I find myself on Percy's front steps._

_I sit down heavily, and I think for a long time. I CAN'T let Percy know about this…I can't let anyone know about this…it's too hard to face the fact that I'm…leaving._

_So, when Percy comes out, looking adorable and distressed, I promise myself to stay strong._

_I know Athena's watching me as I distance myself from Percy…this angers me to no end._

_I take in his wide green eyes, messy black hair, and lips that were pressed together in concern. As quick as a flash, I lean in towards him, and kiss him on the cheek._

_I can't take it…once I kissed him I pulled out my hat, turned invisible and sprinted away._

_I run to the far side of his Cabin, and watched as he stares into space, looking dumbstruck._

_A sob escapes my lips and I choke on it._

_STOP ANNABETH. I cover my mouth, blinking hard. I have to be strong…I HAVE to be strong._

I open my eyes, and I stare into Thalia's electric blue eyes, and then into Rachel's green ones.

"And that's it…" I say. This whole time, I've been fighting to keep my voice steady, but it finally breaks.

"OH, Annabeth!" Thalia says softly, pulling me into a hug. I hug her back tightly, shutting my eyes,

"So…now what do we do?" Rachel asks lightly.

"We DON'T tell Percy that she's…she's…" Thalia hesitates, biting her lip and staring at me misery.

"We don't tell Percy that I'm leaving." I finish, my voice hard and rough.

**NOOoooOOOO!**

**OH MAN :( Once again –for the billionth time- I'm sorry that it took almost 2 MONTHS to update! : ( You see, whenever I get the need to write, and I'm not close to a computer, I write down the chapter on pieces of paper. BUT—this time, when I went to get the papers to type it up-I COULDN'T FIND THEM! So, I thought my mom maybe would have taken it and accidentally thrown it away, so I was sulky and I tried writing up a new chapter. 2 weeks later, I'm cleaning out my desk and I find it T_T and by then, the chapters like half complete xP **

**AND THEN, I had NO idea what to write for the quest, and I started writing up messages to my reviewers who reply often, asking if they could help me out on it…but I ended up not sending them to you guys because I didn't want to ruin it for you :( SO, I was stuck with writers block, and I ended up rewriting the whole chapter…and basically; this chapter took me the longest it has ever taken to write a chapter. _**

**Reviews please! : ) TELL ME WHATCHA THINK OF THIS…"TWIST"?**

**What would you like to see? More Percabeth? More showings of the other characters? More fillings? Reviews would be really nice! :)**


	19. Can You Rephrase That?

**Ahaa! You probably thought that it would take me 3 months to update! Well, guess again! It only took me 3 days ;) **

**P.S. This is basically a VERY fluffy Percabeth-ish chapter! :) Not really anything big on the plot, but I decided to give in to the comments of having more Percabeth in my story ;)**

**Percy's POV**

"Capture The Flag! Yes! This is _exactly_ what you need right now, Perce!" Travis slaps me on the back, grinning from ear to ear.

I grin back, and slide on my equipment. It feels good; it feels like what it use to feel like back in the old days.

"Ready to go down, Prissy?" Clarisse leered, pulling out her electric spear in a jabbing motion.

"You wish!" Travis hooted, practically jumping up and down.

I laugh, my head feeling light, I haven't felt like this in a while. I look up, ad I see Annabeth, sitting on a bench, reading. There's still time before the game starts.

The Camp's a buzz; the last time that we ever played Capture the Flag was when Artemis' Hunters were here; and of course, we got our butts kicked.

Grover slides down into the seat next to me, but we all immediately stand up when the Conch horn sounds.

I watch nervously as Annabeth, Malcolm, and a few other Cabin Six kids get up and raise the 10 foot silk banner that had a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.

On the other side of the Pavilion, Clarisse and her siblings raise their banner; a red banner painted with a bloody spear and a boars head.

"It's like Déjà vu all over again, right?" Grover whispered.

"Nah, man! I say we shake it up a bit; I don't want to be sitting around, learning Ancient Greek while Athena, Hermes, and Ares Cabin battle it out!" Chris complains.

Connor leans his elbow easily on Grover's head, who immediately shakes it off and bleats.

"Naw man, we got this covered. Everyone's gonna be here for Capture the Flag; Athena, Poseidon, Hermes and Apollo versus Ares, Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus."

"Ummm…it seems like the teams are a little outnumbered though…" I frown; this is _definitely _feels like the first time I played.

Travis laughs. "It was the same teams back when we were 12, braw! And we STILL whopped their sorry butts back then!" Chris grins, poorly attempting to be a good sport.

"Chris! Get over here!" Clarisse yells from across the room.

"Clare, I'm in this team though!" Chris hollers back.

"Come be on the winning side…with me?" Clarisse raises an eyebrow, the closest she could get to pleading.

"Well, I guess it'll be ME kicking YOUR sorry butts!" Chris laughs, walking away as we all shout "TRAITOR!"

I turn around and literally jump when I see Annabeth's behind me. Everyone stares at me once I've calmed down.

"Sorry" I say sheepishly, my face flaming as I drop my eyes to the floor.

"No problem…just wanted to say that the Game's starting soon and…yeah." She says breezily, glancing at everyone.

Grover nods and smiles. "Thanks, Annabeth." His eyes were burning with a hidden intensity; he probably thought we didn't notice, but we all did…Grover sucked at hiding things. Annabeth stiffens, and then uneasily returns the smile, and walks away.

"What was that about, Grover?" I demand. He looks startled, and shakes his head wordlessly.

We narrow our eyes; Grover's hiding something…does he know what Rachel, Thalia, and Annabeth were talking about?

I was about to pounce on him for more information, but the deafening roar of the Ares Cabin stopped me short; the Game's starting.

Travis is hooting and hollering, everything that just occurred becoming a distant memory to him now.

"LETS GOOOO!" He shouts, sprinting out of the Pavilion.

I see Thalia, not far from me. She pulls out her mace canister, and it changes into the form of a spear. Using her other hand, she rips off her bracelet and shouts "AEGIS!" Her bracelet quickly transforms into a shield with imprint of Medusa's head on it.

Despite seeing it tons of times, I still gasp and shiver with fright.

She somehow hears me over all the noise, and grins, jogging over to me.

"Prissy, you're guarding!" Thalia shouts over the crowd.

I groan. "What? Dude-don't you think I should be up front? I _am_ invincible, you know?"

She glares at me. "Stop showing off! Defense, Perce, Defense! Everyone else called their positions."

I grumble under my breath, but I nod vigorously when Thalia jerks her menacingly scary shield closer to my face. She laughs, and speeds up to a full run.

We're outside now; it's a cloudless day, perfect for Capture the Flag.

"Blue Team; FORWARD!" Thalia hollers, moving up North.

God…Grover's right…Déjà Vu all over again.

Grover catches up and smiles under his too-big helmet.

"Aren't you upfront, Percy?" He asks, pushing his helmet back.

I grumble some more. "Nah, Thalia wants me at Border Patrol."

Grover blinks. "Border Patrol? But isn't…." He trails off, shakes his head, and smiles.

"What?" I ask. I take a step towards him, determined to find out what he's talking about.

In the distance, I could hear Chiron call, "Alright Campers! You know the rules! No…" His voice fades out for a few moments, and then I hear the conch horn blow.

"Gotta go Perce! Good Luck!" Grover grins and runs away.

"Great." I mutter. I look around; no one in sight…it's going to be like that for a while.

I lay down on the grass, looking up at the blue sky.

A few moments later, a shadow blocks my view.

"Percy?" A familiar voice calls.

I sit up, blinking hard in the sun to see Annabeth standing over me, looking confused.

"Hey Annabeth…umm…what are you doing here?" I ask, disoriented.

She bites her lip. "Grover came up to me to tell me I'm on border patrol." GRR! They're STILL trying to set us up?

She makes a face. I figured she was still mad at me…for what? I still have no idea.

"One of us could move down South, I guess. We don't need two Border Patrollers." I say easily, not looking at her.

She's silent, and finally I glance at her. She's staring at me.

"I don't see why not. Just because you're Mr. Invincible doesn't mean you don't need any help." A smile flickers across her face, and she stands there, uncertain.

I stare at her with wide eyes.

"You…_want _to be with me?" I ask, shocked.

She sighs, and plops down onto the grass beside me.

"Percy, I've _always _wanted to be with you. Is that what this is all about? You think that I don't…like you?" She laughs, shaking her head, her hair flying around her face.

I crack a smile, feeling a little nervous. It _did _seem pretty stupid now.

"Well, do you?" I ask suddenly, wanting…no wait—_needing_ to know.

She slowly stops chuckling, and stares at me with bright eyes.

"Do I what?" She asks casually.

"Wise Girl! Stop being such a Wise Girl!" I groan, lying back down onto the ground.

"No, no, no." She says rationally. "Do I what?" She repeats.

The mood seemed to slow down a bit; it was a little tense…but this wasn't a bad thing. I stare up at her from the ground; her head blocks out the sun behind her and its rays made her blonder hair look golden. Her grey eyes, shining with amusement dulled to something deeper.

"Do I what, Percy?" She whispered, her voice barely heard through the breeze.

"Do you…like me?" I asked. I sit up and reach for her hand, my brain working on instinct rather than thought.

We were really close together; I could smell the shampoo in her hair.

"'Course I _like _you…you're my best friend." She says simply, smiling at me, our noses only an inch apart. She drew back a little.

My heart went downhill, and I looked away. "Oh." I mumbled.

She lied back onto the grass, her long hair forming an angelic arc around her.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain?" she asked.

"Mhhmm?"

"Do you ever wish you could go back in time and change something?"

"Yeah…I wish that pretty much every single day."

She blinks, and smiles faintly. "Oh."

"Why did you ask?"

She rolls onto her side, so she could face me. "Because I'm going to let you go back in time, and change one specific thing that I want you change."

I tilt my head, frown, and raise an eyebrow.

"And what's that 'one specific thing'?"

She's still lying on the ground; her hands are clasped together, resting on her stomach.

She closes her eyes.

I want you to go back in time -5 minutes ago, exactly- and I want you to rephrase that question you asked me."

Thunder rumbles loudly ahead, and Annabeth's face flickers for a second.

"What's going on?" I ask, frowning.

"Nothing!" She says quickly.

The thunder keeps going on, and soon it's pouring down raining.

Quickly, I make shield so the water avoids the both of us.

"Umm…this feels a little bit weird. Why's this happening…now?" I ask, blinking.

"No reason, alright! Let's not let this ruin the…moment." She says, blushing a little at the end of her sentence. Now…I want you to rephrase that question."

My heart pounds a little bit harder.

"Wise Girl, you said specific. I don't think you're being specific enough." I tease lightly, my mouth going dry.

She laughs a little, and smiles.

"Alright…You had asked me if I liked you…now, I want you to rephrase that question, and change it into something that you wish you had asked instead."

Her eyes are still closed, and I take a moment to stare at her.

Slowly, I move closer to her, and I lean down.

She opens her eyes, and her cheeks turn pink in surprise. I was only inches away from her.

"Alright…let me rephrase this question." I murmur, bending down a little more.

"Can you be any slower?" She whispers, laughing slightly.

I place my hand onto the grass directly above her shoulder, so I wouldn't topple over her.

"Do you love me?" I asked, my voice lowering to a whisper as well. More thunder, and the rain ferociously pours; we both ignore it.

Her mouth twitches and she begins to smile. She reaches up and wraps her hands around my neck, and slowly rises closer to me.

_Only a couple more seconds…_

"OHH YEAAH! I GOT THE FLAG!"

I didn't even have the time to process what had happened, until I see Travis jump out of the forest holding onto a red flag…swinging on the branches…without a shirt on.

Clarisse is running through the bushes, screaming "CHEATER! You filthy little cheater!"

"I AM NO CHEATER! I AM TARZAN!" Travis shouts, still swinging on the branches.

One of the branches crack, and he falls…directly 2 meters away from Annabeth and I.

They both stop and stare at us; I was still leaning over Annabeth, my mouth hovering centimeters over hers.

A couple of awkward moments pass by, and then the rest of the Camp catches up to Clarisse and Chris…and they come to a dead stop as well.

Someone hoots in the crowd, and another wolf-whistles. The rest are either grinning and giggling.

Thalia comes pushing out of the crowd, trying to hide a satisfied smirk.

"Nothing to see here, people! Nothing to see here at all!" She says, allowing a tiny little smile.

She shoots us a wink, and grins.

Annabeth realizes we're still in that same position, and quickly pushes me away, and in a second she's up on her feet. The thunder and rain suddenly die, and the sun starts to come out. I'm too overwhelmed to actually give that any thought.

"Uhh…" She looks around, and then at the floor, her face burning.

"Oh, kids these days! We left you two alone for 15 minutes! Absurd!" Travis comes to the rescue by putting on deep parenting voice.

"Alright now guys…SERIOUSLY? Didn't I tell you to beat it?" Thalia whirls around to face the crowd.

"But we're still playing Capture the Flag!" One of the kids whine.

"Just. Give. Us. A. MINUTE." She grits through her teeth and then hoists up her shield.

People in the crowd scream and cower, some running away. The rest grumble, flinching as they glance at her shield, and soon begin to walk away.

The only ones left were Thalia, Travis and Connor, Clarisse, Grover, Rachel, and Chris.

"Yeaahhh…this isn't awkward at all." I mumble.

No one else says anything; what _are _you supposed to say at a time like this?

Chiron comes through the bushes, a frown on his face.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"Umm…nothing! Nothing at all." Annabeth confirmed quickly. She shoots me a look, and I quickly scramble to my feet.

Chiron glances at everyone else and they're all either nodding or shrugging.

"Very well…why isn't the game in play? And why doesn't Travis have a shirt on?"

Travis grins. "Cause I thought it would be freaking awesome to look like Tarzan; and it's a pretty good distraction to the ladies." He says matter-of-factly, smoothing back his hair.

Thalia scoffs. "You wish."

Clarisse shakes her head, and narrows her eyes at Travis.

"I declare a re-match. He had talked our border patroller into giving him the flag, by using his….'Tarzan' look. And he's breaking the rules by not having on armor!"

"Having armor on isn't a rule! I don't _have _to wear armor! And also, I think that _they _are cheating! It should be a rule to _not _have Aphrodite chicks play; they're the distractions, _and_ they can charm speak!"

Chiron rubs the sides of his head –his temples- with his two fingers.

"Just finish the game." He says tersely.

"So…I just…run?" Travis asks, confused; our safety zone is just a few feet away.

Chiron nods, and Travis grins. "Alright! We so got this!"

But, of course, he forgot that Clarisse –who was on the other team-, was just meters away from him.

She lets out a battle cry, and charges at him. He yelps and sprints to the safe zone, and reaches it in a matter of seconds.

"And that's game." Chiron says, sighing.

"WOO-HOO!" Travis shouts, dunking the flag to the ground. It isn't a football, so it basically bounces and then lamely stops.

Chiron blows the Conch Horn, and the Blue Team appears, running to us, whooping and laughing and shouting with glee.

Clarisse throws down her electric spears with bitterness and glares at Travis, who's being hoisted into the air.

Annabeth's laughing along with everyone else, but when she catches my eye, she stop and smiles at me.

We're being pushed against people and fearing that I would loose her in the crowd, I hold onto her hand, pulling her to me.

She laughs again, and I laugh with her, my head feeling light.

For now, nothing is wrong. No one is angry, no one is gone, and no one is upset. Nothing can stop us, nothing can get in our way, and nothing could go badly.

At least, that's what I thought at that time.

**Sorry if it's too fluffy and lacks plot you guys! Just thought I should add some more Percabeth into this! ;)**


	20. He's MINE!

**It was Earth Day! I hope you guys helped save energy! :) I sure did!...I wrote this chapter in the dark… _**

**Annabeth's POV**

"μάχη των θεών"

Percy frowns and makes an adorable crease in his eyebrows.

"Umm…I think that means _Nachos_…mhhhmm…I could use some Nacho's right now."

I crack a smile and shake my head. It's a lazy Sunday afternoon and I had managed to persuade Percy into studying Greek with me. Our legs are tangled together and I'm leaning on his bed while he's sprawled at the foot of it.

"Well…what it actually means is _Battle of The Gods_."

Percy groans. "Can't we just study Greek Mythology…in English? That's what I did before all this even started!"

"You were 12 at that time, Seaweed Brain. You're _17_ now…I'm pretty sure that just because I don't like trigonometry, doesn't mean that I work on my addition skills instead." I point out, smirking slightly.

Percy rolls onto his side to face me, and cocks an eyebrow, grinning.

"Wise Girl not liking MATH? Who are you and what have you done to my girlfr- to Annabeth?" he finishes lamely.

A pleasant tingle goes up my spine, but on the outside my face was expressionless. We haven't really touched onto the subject of us being together as a couple and I can't say that I'm annoyed. What we have right now is peaceful, is a truce…but what we have right now _isn't enough_.

Percy stares at me and I smile back absently. He crawls towards me, his face inches away.

My breathing hitches and my face turns pink.

He doesn't even do anything, just stands there, ridiculously close to me.

"ουσ. Περισπασμός" I stutter, feeling flustered.

With deliberate slowness, he gently pries the book away from my grasp, and tosses it behind him. 

"I just want to try someth

"I just want to try something." He whispers, and moves in to kiss me. Just before he does, a vicious sound of thunder clasps from above.

Percy jerks back, and throws his hands into the air angrily.

"I knew it! Something's up with the Gods! Or actually, something's up with YOU and Athena. Annabeth…what's wrong?" Percy demands desperately.

I freeze, my lips still pursed, and I stare at Percy, who slowly drops his hands back to his sides.

"What's wrong? Gods…everything's wrong!" I say stubbornly, refusing to say any more.

Percy wraps his arms around me, and I fall into his embrace, grateful and happy that I have him to lean on.

"Why don't you tell me about one your problems?" he asks while his lips were on my hair.

I know he wants me to tell him about Athena and me, but I just can't tell him yet. I'll have to settle for something smaller, but as equally important.

"Why can't we just kiss already?" I moan, staring helplessly at him.

He laughs softly. "That's it?" He knows that's not my problem, but he doesn't pry.

"I mean…why are we acting like this is so hard? It isn't even our first time! It's out 3rd time- not counting how many times we did last summer that night." I said, my face burning a little.

Percy looks thoughtful. "I remember the first time. You pretty much left me dumbstruck. What brought that on?"

I shrug. "I thought I was going to loose you. I think that was the day I realized that I love you."

Percy stares at me, his green eyes searching. He crawled towards me, his fingers grazing my leg, thigh, arm, shoulder, and finally resting on my cheek.

I smiled at him, and looked down. He's hesitating; I'm not leaning towards him, so he's confused.

I know, I know, I KNOW! I spent this whole summer mooning over him, and I should be grateful that he's with me and not Audrey.

But I can't do it. If I kiss him -even just once- it would be IMPOSSIBLE to leave him.

I think back to last summer. We kissed underwater, and it felt amazing. But the next day, I left him. I couldn't go back to New York with Percy since I'd have to spend the whole YEAR in Olympus. So I sulked and tried to be strong until summer came around.

I use to think I was strong and independent but that was before Percy kissed me.

I can't kiss him now-weeks before I leave- and then say goodbye.

"Percy, I'm sorry I'm being such a prude." I sigh, and reach back for the Greek Book.

Just as I'm about to pick it up, I feel Percy's arms boldly wrap around me. I get pulled onto my back, and I see Percy looming over me, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Kiss me" he demands, leaning towards me.

I turn my face away, and laugh.

"Now what kind of prude would I be if I did that?"

"Not a very good one" Percy chuckles, and kisses my forehead.

I smile at him, and squirm away from under him.

"Hey, where are you going? I thought we were studying?" Percy complains, frowning.

"Sorry Seaweed Brain. Gotta get some fresh air. But here's something for you to sit around and translate; σ' αγαπώ" I smile at him, and then head out. 

I'm walking down the path to the Big House, trying to find Thalia or Rachel; I need some sort of distraction.

I pass by Apollo kids dancing and singing. Aphrodite kids flirting and gossiping. Ares kids wrestling and fighting. I look around at all the familiar faces, but I don't see Thalia or Rachel.

"Annabeth."

I slowly turn around, recognizing that voice.

"Audrey." I say stiffly.

Her layered brown hair was tied to the side with a green ribbon, making her dark makeup filled eyes pop. She was wearing a Camp shirt, but she had cut the sides to make it into a tank top, and had tied a knot at the bottom to make it shorter. She looked pretty, but I knew there was always something sinister hiding underneath.

"What do you want?" I ask, narrowing my eyes,

She gestures to the woods. "Can we walk?"

"Yes, we CAN walk. I know that we're able to walk." I couldn't help but correct her grammar.

She sighs impatiently.

"May we take a pleasant stroll through the woods?" she hisses through her teeth.

"No thank you. I'm not in the mood." I say dismissively.

"Stop being such a BITC-" She stops quickly, and takes a hasty breath. Then, she self consciously looks around, and sees that we're being watched by everyone.

"_Please_, Annabeth?" she stares at me, and I'm shocked to hear her begging.

"Alright." I say reluctantly.

She breathes a sigh of relief, and turns to walk into the deep forest. I trail behind her.

********Once they get to the forest**************

The second we're in a safe yet uncomfortably far distance from Camp, she turns around and hugs me.

I freeze and awkwardly stand there with my arms by my sides.

Once she releases me, she looks at me with a large amount of sympathy. This makes me VERY uncomfortable; I could feel that something was wrong.

"So why'd you bring me here?" I ask evenly.

"I'm sorry about everything that's happened between us. It's just that…I love Percy. And I wanted him for myself. But he's clearly taken while you're here." Her voice breaks.

I nod seriously, refusing to speak at all.

"But you won't be here next summer. And the summer after that and after that…and the summers for the next decade."

I gape at her. "H-h-how did you know that? You-you evil little eavesdropper!" I shout.

Audrey laughs cruelly.

"Oh Boohoo! That's right. I listened to you weep and moan about leaving. Well guess what, blondie? You'll be gone. Just a distant and painful memory to my Seaweed Brain. And I'll be there for him. I'll be the one that leans into him at night. I'll be the one that kisses those full lips and—"

"SHUT UP!" I scream at her.

She smirks at me, a cold, deranged look on her face. "I just wanted to tell you that I think you should go now; get a head start on building. I can take over my man from here."

"Percy loves ME. And I love HIME, and the way we feel about each other is crazy…no once could feel like us. And YOU, Audrey, out of all people can't come between us." I snap angrily.

"Oh please!" she laughs.

"You haven't even KISSED him before!" she hoots. "And you're SO in love, right? He's probably never touched you above the wrist…you just don't give off that kind of attraction. You're idea of wild is probably practicing Greek together." She smirks.

"THAT'S IT!" I roar. I step forward, and I shove her hard.

Her arms windmill and she lands on her bottom with a _thud_.

Audrey blinks rapidly, and looks around, her eyes landing on a heavy branch. She picks it up, and throws it at me.

It clips me on the side of my head, and the ground suddenly rushes up to my face.

The last thing I remember is a bright light, blistering hear, and rough hands bundling me into their arms.

The last thing I hear is Audrey's panicked voice becoming distant.

"Who are you? What are you doing? Oh my Gods! Annabeth!"

I have a strong feeling that whoever it was, it wasn't someone good.

**Hii guys! I know this is a shorter chapter, but I thought the ending had enough suspense, so it would be all good :)**

**HEEEY! What happened to all my reviewers? Thank you everyone who reviewed last time (Alexandriarulzforeva, readermillions girl, lynnnnyl, percabeth13, Elena Fisher, Cassie, SeaweedBrain113097, olympian1999, katie10166, Sister of the Shadow, steve, and GothicNicoLuver)!**

**I haven't been getting as many reviews as I use to; Chapters 18 and 19 combined have fewer reviews than Chapter 17! :O But that's ok I guess-I apologize for making you wait that long back then :S BUT I've changed; the more you guys review, the quicker I'll post another chapter! :) So please; even if it's just a couple of words, make sure you leave your review! It'll mean the world to me (OK—maybe that's a LITTLE bit of exaggeration!)**

**Hope to keep you posted-Just remember to review! :)**


	21. I Love You

**EEIIII! 400 reviews! THANKYOU everyone; all of your amazing reviews were probably one of the biggest reasons why I got this far into Just Kiss Already! :) (I have a really big knack for getting impatient and quitting halfway through a story…not this time though!)**

**Percy's POV**

"Everyone! Hello? Anyone listening..."

I'm standing on a bench in the Dining Pavilion, waving for everyone's attention.

Clarisse sighs impatiently, and climbs onto the table next to me.

"HEY YOU LITTLE PRICKS! GIVES US YOUR MONEY-I MEAN ATTENTION...OR I'LL BEAT THE GODS-KNOW-WHAT OUT OF YOU!"

_That_drew people's attention. Everyone stopped talking and stared up at Clarisse with fear.

"Take it away Prissy...you wuss." She muttered. I pretend that I didn't hear the last part.

I clear my throat, and look everyone in the eye.

"Alright guys, someone from Camp is...is _missing_. I don't know where, but all I know is I've looked everywhere, and I can't find her. Has anyone seen Annabeth Chase?"

"You're awfully calm about this Percy..." Thalia says uncertainly, as if thinking I'd go berserk.

"Yeah, we thought you'd go full out commando!" Travis whined, as Connor miserably tossed a drachma to a smirking Grover.

I ignored of all their comments. I wasn't going to loose it...yet. Not while there was still some hope that someone's seen Annabeth.

"So...has anyone seen Annabeth? She's been gone a day so far, but she wouldn't just leave without saying anything."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rachel and Thalia whipping their heads up, swiftly throwing looks at each other. I frown a little; something's going on there, but I'm not sure what.

Everyone's silent. There has to be _someone_who's seen Annabeth. I clench my teeth together, and stare everyone down.

"You have nothing to be worried about. You're completely safe if you offer up the truth." I growl.

Travis snorts. "Not with that look you're giving them, Perce!"

I shut him up by giving him a Death Glare.

"Percy, it's obvious that no one knows where Annabeth is. Can we go now?" An Aphrodite girl stands up and asks.

I glare suspiciously at her; _why would she ask that? Could she be the culprit?_

Someone's hand clamps down on my shoulder; Rachel. She shakes her head sadly.

"Percy, don't get in your head that it's someone from the Camp. It's clearly none of them."

I give her my suspicious glare, and she stares back determinedly.

"Why are you so sure?" I ask, my voice clearly hinting my paranoia.

Thalia storms at me. "It's NOT Rachel. Don't loose yourself in this Percy."

I groan, shaking my head. It's too late for her words; I've already lost myself.

"Maybe you should just take the day off. Go to your Cabin, and get some rest. The rest of us will talk about this." Thalia stares at Rachel, and then they both glance at everyone else. Again-they're hiding something.

"Alright." I murmur. Something suddenly hits me; the last time that Annabeth spoke to me:

_"Sorry Seaweed Brain. Gotta get some fresh air. But here's something for you to sit around and translate; σ' αγαπώ"_

"Hey…guys?" I ask uncertainly. They look up at me; my voice probably sounded somewhat hysterical…smooth.

"Yeah, Perce?" Grover asks softly.

"What does '_σ' αγαπώ' __mean__?_"

Rachel's eyes glisten with sympathy, but she presses her lips together and shakes her head.

"I think you should find that out on yourself, Perce."

********That afternoon….***********

Later, when I'm alone in my Cabin, I sit around and think about those words.

_σ' αγαπώ...σ' αγαπώ...σ' αγαπώ...σ' αγαπώ..._What does this mean?

Suddenly, it hits me.

_"Sorry Seaweed Brain. Gotta get some fresh air. But here's something for you to sit around and translate; I love you."_

She told me she loved me. She told me she loved me. SHE TOLD ME SHE LOVED ME.

And I didn't say if back...by the time I was about to say it, she was already gone, nothing but her words and the noise of the door ringing in my ear.

I wasn't crying. I didn't feel like I was about to cry; I knew Annabeth wouldn't cry at a time like this either. She and I are so alike; we wouldn't _ever_ stop for what we wanted.

I leaned over to my bag, and pulled out a drachma. I roll it over in my fingers, staring at it intently.

**Annabeth's POV**

My eyes flutter open, and I stare through slits at where I was. I was on a bed, in a _HUGE_ room!

I slowly sit up and look around.

"OHMYGODS!" I gasp, jerking back in surprise.

Apollo was sitting _right_ next to me, staring at me with a grin on his sun kissed face.

"A-Apollo?" I demand, trying to regain what pride I had remaining.

"Hey there, Annabeth. Enjoying yourself?" he smiles.

"What am I doing here?" I sputter, looking around wildly.

He raises his hands in a calming gesture.

"Annabeth, your time has come to follow your fate." He imitates my mom's tone; all serious and wise.

"Cut that out! Take me back to Camp…and WHAT am I wearing?" I shout, glaring down at my attire. It's the basic white Chiffon Greek dress; the kind of thing that you would see Athena or Aphrodite wear. It was NOT my thing. **(The dress I pictured her wearing is on my profile-it has a link!)**

"How'd I get into these clothes?" I demand, clenching my fists.

Apollo wiggles his fingers and his eyebrows.

"You mean how'd you get OUT of those clothes?" He laughs, looking down at a neatly folded pile of my Camp Half Blood clothes.

I stare him down, judging if he was lying or not. He laughs, shaking his head.

"Oh, Apollo. You shouldn't tease her." Aphrodite materializes in front of me, giggling into her hand.

"Don't worry darling-I was the one who dressed you. So you can wipe that baffled look off your face." She winks at me.

Athena opens the grand door, and strides in, her head held high. Even through my rage I still felt a kind of awe-she seemed so…majestic. It made me wonder how she could ever be my mom; there was no way I could match up to her.

"Annabeth, you are every bit as…what did you call it? Majestic? Well, you're as every bit 'Majestic' as I am. And that is why you are here; your ten year duty as architect of Olympus begins."

Aphrodite cheers and Apollo pats me on the shoulder. His hand was really warm, but it was nothing compared to the heat I was feeling.

"NO! What? Mother…I still have another WEEK left of Camp! There are still things I have to do…"

"Like what? Annabeth you're still having something I call 'wishful thinking'. We went over this already; The Son of Poseidon is a _bad_ influence. You need the time alone…you're becoming some sort of love-sick Aphrodite child."

"Nothing's wrong with that…"Aphrodite sniffs.

"You can't do this to me." I whisper, my face paling.

"Annabeth we had a deal. You can't let these foolish intentions get in the way. Olympus _needs_ an architect. Olympus needs _you_."

The second these words left her lips, I began to fade out.

It felt like I was in a dream. It was 10 years from now; I looked a lot older, my hair was long and tied back. I was wearing that STUPID dress –Urgh, it'll haunt me forever!- and faint lines of age formed around my face. Wait…wrinkles? At 27?

"It's because of all the work." Athena says softly. I turn to see her; she's staring with pride at future-Annabeth, a small smile on her face. She never gave _me _that smile before. Well, present me…not 27 year old wrinkle-face me.

"You're one of the smartest mortals of your time, you know? Daedalus would be proud."

I narrow my eyes at the workaholic version of me. I seem…sad.

"Where's Percy?"

She gives me a stern look, but I find us fading from the scene. I manage one last glimpse at the future me before we teleport.

We're in the busy streets of New York. I see a Café Shop, and the familiar black hair.

"Percy…" I murmur. He looks…WOW. Strong, tall, muscular…just…WOW.

"Annabeth" Athena says in a warning voice, reading my thoughts. My face turns red.

We move closer; he's on a laptop, sipping coffee and messaging Grover. They're talking about…marriage? Oh thanks the Gods—they're talking about _Grover's_ marriage…to Juniper! I smile, happy to see them finally together. A thought crosses my mind, and my smile disappears.

"Is he married?" I lower my voice and look down. Athena's looking at me with a weird expression.

"I have a right to now." I say, my voice dropping an octave.

"No." she says quietly. "He never moved on after you left…and Aphrodite says he never will."

I feel a strong emotion burning under my skin; Love? Pride? Joy?

"I want to go back." I say suddenly.

"To Olympus, yes. To Camp…you know the answer to that." She says matter-of-factly.

"I don't care, just anywhere but here." I stare at Percy's face; just like future Annabeth's, it's sad.

I blink, and suddenly we're back in the room. Aphrodite and Apollo are gone.

"I know you might not like it here, but—"

"Can you just please leave?" I demand bravely. Her eyes flash but she leaves without a word.

I sigh, and gently sit on my bed. I sit there, staring at my hands for a couple of minutes, when I hear it.

"ANNABETH! ANNABETH!" I hear the oh-so familiar voice. My head whips up in the direction of the voice.

"PERCY?"

I turn, and I see him in an Iris message.

I run to it, and I kneel down, coming to level with his face.

"Oh Percy! I'm stuck here!" I state the obvious.

"I know, Annabeth. I know. Just tell us what happened."

"Is that Annabeth? Tell Annabeth that I said hi! Hi Annabeth!" I hear Travis' voice, but I couldn't see him in the message.

"Travis SHUT UP! Let her speak!" Thalia growls.

I laugh, shaking my head. But I grow serious quickly, and explain what happened.

When I was done, everyone was quiet.

"AUDREY! THAT HARPY!" Thalia shouted, breaking the silence.

"We can't have her just walking around Camp after what she did." Chris murmurs.

**(I'm just going to add in a BIG "thank you!" to Olympian1999's review about "50 ways to kill Audrey"…and this is how…~P.S. I picked my favorite ones out of them…which were mostly ALL…but my top 5 favorites! Oh, and everyone else reading this, you should check out that review! It's pretty entertaining! xD)**

"I say we STAB her!" Clarisse growls¸ cracking her knuckles menacingly.

"I'd rather push her into the Sea…it's more practical. And maybe there'll happen to be sharks swimming around…" Percy manages a smile, but he looks shaky and pretty angry.

"I'd rather shoot flaming arrows at her. It'll be good target practice." Thalia mutters darkly.

"Guys…this is getting a little out of hand. Why don't we make her suffer, with_out_ getting ourselves into trouble? I SAY WE MAKE HER READ A BOOK!" Rachel declares, triumphantly.

Everyone laughs at her idea, shaking their heads. But Rachel's comment sobered them up and they all lapsed into silence.

"Annabeth, why didn't you tell me about what Athena said?" Percy said, shaking a lot more. I realized a second too late that he wasn't angry about the Audrey thing—he was angry at _me_ for not telling him.

"I was going to tell you soon…." I began calmly.

"SOON?" He interrupted, standing up quickly. "If you don't know already…THERE'S ONLY A WEEK LEFT!"

Everyone froze; I glared up at him through the mist, and he glared down at me, still standing up.

"We have to think of a way to get Annabeth back. Whether or not she didn't tell us, she's there now. And I'm positive that no one would want her to go away for the next ten years." Thalia says uneasily.

"But how? You're saying that we have to out-smart the Gods…is that even _possible_?" Rachel asks in disbelief.

"It is…" I find myself saying faintly. I look up at Percy, my glare gone. "We've done it once, we can do it again."

Something in Percy's eyes change, and he looks around.

"Guys, can you give us a minute?" he says in a tight voice.

They at each other worriedly. Finally, it's Connor that breaks the awkward silence. "Ahh, whatever. I'm sure these two together can think of something."

They all reluctantly get up, and lumber out of Percy's Cabin.

He sighs, rubbing at his forehead.

"Are you OK, there? What did you do so far?" he asks in a low voice.

I shrug. "Just talked to Athena about my work I have to do there." I leave out the big part on how I went to the future and saw us.

"Annabeth, do you have any plans?" Percy asks, clenching his fists.

"I don't…I don't see how we can sneak past the Gods." I closed my eyes, thinking hard.

"Well, what about Hercules? In the movie, Hades sent his two minions to go and kidnap him, and turn him mortal. If they could, can't we?" Percy lights up with hope.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Seaweed Brain, I can't believe that you're talking about the _Disney_ version! That whole story was completely untrue about Hercules; it was Hera who didn't want him to be alive."

"Oh…that makes more sense." He made a frustrated sound, and banged his fist on the table.

I hated seeing him like that, despite the cute look he gets when he's worried.

"But it won't hurt to try, will it?" I whisper lightly.

"I've battled Ares once; I can do it again, right?"

He looks up at me, his eyes burning.

"Come closer." I mutter.

He crawls towards the mist. I slowly lift my fingers, and let my fingertips slide against where his face would be; instead of feeling warmth, I feel water.

"That's weird…it kind of tickles." He smiles at me, and I manage a smile back.

"We'll find a way out of this…I swear on the River Styx." He says gravely. Thunder Booms, and I gasp in surprise.

"Percy…" I find myself leaning in to the Mist.

Gently, really, _really _gently, I press my lips against the Mist, where his lips would be.

I feel him jolt, but he quickly relaxes, and presses his lips against the Mist too. He's right…I feel a tiny sensation on my lips.

We pull back, and stare at each other.

"Did we finally kiss?" He asks hoarsely, smiling roughly at me.

"Nope. You have to come and find me to get an actual one." I say simply. My face feels warm and pink.

He stares at me for another moment.

"What?" I ask.

"_σ' αγαπώ" __**(This means I love you…Aww! :D )**_

_I laugh a little, my insides feeling fuzzy._

_"σ' αγαπώ __you too, Seaweed Brain."_

**Done this Chapter!**

**Thanks again for all your reviews everyone! This is the most amount of reviews I've ever got for a chapter! : ) THANKYOU!**

**So, what do you think about this Chapter? I kind of don't want Annabeth to be in a Damsel-In-Distress kind of situation, since she's WAY too awesome to be the one in distress, so I'll attempt to shake it up in the next chapter…**

**I just really feel the need to thank everyone…SOO…**

**THANKYOY percyjackson9731, Crabadab, readermillions girl, ArtemisandApollorock26, JordannWolf, bookgroupie, catroyal210, emilysieler99, tomboyzrule00, BlueIcreamWithCherriesOnTop, potAtoeLady, lynnnnyl, AngelRide, Steve, tatyana, HappyDayzRHere, Olympian1999, candy0304, lilyflower42, another epiphany, percabeth fan forever, val4231, yandc, Elena Fisher, bkats, scyther27, anonomys, untitles, No name, Stephen, squirtlepokemon215, NoelAnderson, but-thatsjustme-dealwithit, and Whocaresaboutnames!**

**Don't think your reviews go unnoticed, because they don't! You guys are all amazing, and I'll be sure to have a shout out on the last chapter of Just Kiss Already to all my constant reviewers! You guys rock~! :)**

**P.S. I would just like to say how AWESOME PJO is! Yesterday we had our Mythology Unit test, and guess who finished the WHOLE thing in less then 10 minutes? I remember for like Fill in the Blanks it would be like "The Ferryman in the Underworld:_" and I'd think back to the Lightning Thief…CHARON! And then once I was done the test, I muttered under my breath: Thank**_**you**_** Percy Jackson!" I 3 PJO! :)**


	22. I'm Coming For You

Percy's POV

"The wheels on the bus go round and round  
Round and round, round and round  
The wheels on the bus go round and round  
All through the town."

"STOLL! I swear to the Gods, if you don't stop singing…"

"The wipers on the bus go 'Swish, swish, swish,  
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish'  
The wipers on the bus go 'Swish, swish, swish'  
All through the town."

Travis leans over to the drivers' seat where Argus was sitting and flicks the switch so the windshield wipers would start up…on this perfectly sunny day. Argus shoots Travis a dirty look with at least two dozen eyes.

"TRA-VIS…CON-NOR…" Thalia growls, her fists clenched.

"The door on the bus goes open and shut  
Open and shut, open and shut  
The door on the bus goes open and shut  
All through the town."

"Last chance…" Thalia's seethes.

"The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep  
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep"  
The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep"  
All through the town!" Every time the Stoll Brother's said "Beep", Travis would lean over and honk the horn. Argus shoots Travis a look of pure annoyance.

"THAT'S IT!" Thalia roars, and swiftly stands up.

The second she stands up, the Stoll Brothers semi-shriek and burst into "I'm SORRY!" and "I won't EVER sing it again!"

I sigh, smiling a little at all my friends. We're almost at the Empire State Building. We basically don't even have a perfect plan; we just go there, attempt to fight and get the Wise Girl back.

_Annabeth, we're coming for you._

**Annabeth's POV**

I shake my head, staring at the Iris message.

They're actually doing this…they're actually attempting to come here.

_For me._

"Darn it, Seaweed Brain!" I seethe, swiping away the Iris message.

There's _no_ way he can get past the Gods—I don't know what I was thinking…pfft, agreeing to a plan like that.

But still. They were planning on risking _everything_ just to have me back.

I stare at the floor, thinking hard.

Do I _really_ want this? For years I've wanted to become an architect and do my mom proud. And now I have the chance!

"Annabeth, sweety. Weren't you the one who said that the Camp will always be your home?" Aphrodite materializes beside me, sitting on the side of my bed.

I don't blink an eye as I glance at her—sure, I see Gods popping out of thin air _all the time_. No biggie.

"So you're saying I should _leave_ here? And disappoint my mother?" I ask, putting as much skepticism as I could in my voice.

"So you're saying that you want to _stay_ here? And give up the best thing that you'll ever have in life?" Aphrodite asks in the same tone that I used.

"He's travelling all the way here to get you, for Zeus' sake!" She gestures at where my Iris message was and shoots me an exasperated look.

My face pales.

"You know that he's coming here?" Oh my Gods. If Aphrodite –the blondest of the blondes- knows this then there's no doubt that everyone else knows about Percy too.

"Umm…first of all; I'm not dumb! And I don't appreciate you calling me a blonde with that tone. I'm more than just a pretty face, you know?" She pouts, reading my mind.

I roll my eyes and motion for her to continue.

"And as for everyone else knowing…" she lets her eyes drop; Aphrodite doesn't need to say anything. By the way she says it I could tell that they already know.

I groan, ducking my face; how could we have been so stupid?

"Don't be sad; think of it like Romeo and Juliet! It's a forbidden love story that will eventually come true!"

I glower at her.

"Romeo and Juliet _die_ in the end of the book."

Aphrodite's face falls. "_Really? _ Shakespeare kind of bores me…I've never really read any of his books. Speaking of which…I've never really read _any_ books." She ponders this, smiles, and then pats my knee. **(For the sake of thinking that there **_**are**_** actually Greek Gods out there—I would like to say that I don't actually think Aphrodite's just a bimbo. This is for the sake of my love life, if Aphrodite exists. xD)**

"And don't worry! I'm rooting for Team Percabeth, NOT team 'Annabeth-the-Architect'!" Aphrodite stage-whispers to me and then vanishes.

I groan loudly, falling backwards onto my bed.

Great—out of ANY of the Gods who would be on my side at a time like this, I get Aphrodite.

I purse my lips, glancing at the door—I wonder how this is all about to go down.

**Percy's POV**

We're standing in the lobby of the Empire State Building.

My hands are clammy and I can't get them to stop shaking. I'm standing off to the side as Thalia tosses the receptionist a drachma. I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this; Athena already hates me…what would she do if I tried taking Annabeth away from her?

"Percy? Hello? PERCY!" Thalia zaps me slightly to wake me out of my daze.

"Mhhmm?" I mumble.

She stares at me, her darkened eyes round.

"We have to go now. It's time to get Annabeth." She says slowly, as if speaking to a child.

The second she said Annabeth's name, I went completely out of my daze, ready to get back my girlfriend.

"Let's do this, guys." I say, loud enough so everyone can hear.

We all crowd into the small elevator. Soon a bunch of people start snickering when "Staying Alive" comes on. I wince, having a _major _feeling of Déjà vu.

As we're going up the floors, I turn to all my friends.

"Guys, I honestly don't know if we even planned this out right—so all of you guys go off and cause a distraction and I'll sneak off and get Annabeth."

Wow. Our plan _really_ is an epic fail.

Travis' ears perk up.

"A distraction?" He asks hopefully.

"Mhmm. Just cause chaos…EVERYWHERE. Make sure you do a good job of it—we need all the Gods to be there, alright?" I say gravely, looking everyone in the eye.

"This. Plan. ROCKS!" The Stoll brother's high five each other. Great. At least _someone_ thinks this plan's good.

The doors swing open, and I take a deep breath.

"Remember what I just said everyone." I murmur to them.

We all step outside; me going one way and everyone else going the other way to do Gods-know-what.

I turn the corner and sprint, praying to Aphrodite –who said she'll always be on our team- to help us.

I look back to see if I'm being followed. Good; I'm not.

I grin and turn back, but come to a dead halt; I _almost_ ran into them.

"My, my Perseus Jackson. We thought it would take you _forever_ to show up. At least, I _hoped_ it would take forever." The lady in the center of the group stares down at me with such hatred that I sink back.

I curse my luck as my stomach twists nervously and my head and heart pounds.

_It's over. It's over. IT's OVER. _I think repeatedly.

I had just run into the Olympians.

Gods kill me now—WAIT no. I don't mean that literally.

**Ta-Da! This chapter is fineto (Finished)! :)**

**AND so are my exams…as of next week. xP What we've been doing is exam review and projects—and to me, the projects seem harder than exams…they just keep on piling up on you!**

**ANYWAYS—I just wanted to say that…**_**THIS STORY IS COMING TO AN END…SOON! D:**_

**It's been AMAZING writing this, and I LOVE you guys for reviewing and I bet this is my 15****th**** time saying this…you guys are AWESOME! ;)**

**P.S. HAS ANYONE READ THE PREVIEW FOR THE SON OF NEPTUNE?**

**OHMYGODS is it NOT genius? I liked had a full out freak out after reading the preview! SOOOO GOOOOODD! PERCY! Review and tell me what you thought of it! There wasn't really enough about it to have an opinion on it, but I'm just curious to know if anyone else has read the preview yet! :) EIIIIII! CAN'T WAIT!**


	23. My Girlfriend Hijacks a Motorcycle

**Annabeth's POV**

I slowly blow out a breath, my hands trembling.

Lying on this comfortable bed, in a plain cotton white dress with my hair spread in an arc around me; it _should_ feel relaxing.

But not at a time like this.

Percy is on his way here—he's risking everything and everyone for me. Unbelievable.

I pull out a stash of drachmas and flick one of them up into the air.

"Show me Percy Jackson." I say in a controlled voice.

I see him…Oh dear Gods. I see him _here_, just getting out of the elevator! Thalia, Rachel, Travis, Connor, Grover, Clarisse and Chris are behind him. He's running…_without_ them! They run in another direction and he runs separate, with that adorable look of worry.

"SEAWEED BRAIN!" I gasp, shocked at his…well, stupidity.

He should know better than to go look for me all alone; of course the Gods will target _him_ as a threat!

I stand up immediately when I see who he runs into. My mom's standing in the center of the group, basically glowing red. Poseidon stands to the side of my mom, unsure and conflicting emotions battling across his face. Aphrodite stands on her other side, giving Percy a supportive look. Everyone else is just there, not sure whose side to take.

Wait a minute…why in the name of Hades am I _just sitting here?_

I leap off the side of my bed and hit the ground, running with my arms and legs pumping. I swing the door open and then I run the fastest I can, desperate to find the Kelp Head.

*******A couple of minutes of sprinting and searching… (Still Annabeth's POV!)*******

"_Holy Hades._" I'm open-mouthed, my arms dangling lifelessly by my sides.

The scene in front of me is…_incredible_.

Fire blazes from every direction; it's…it's…its CHAOS.

Fountains, flowers, statues…they're all broken, ripped apart and now shattered rubble.

"Who in the name of the Gods did this?" I whisper to myself, my mouth still agape.

As if hearing my question, my answer appears…_ON ARES' MOTORCYCLE._

Travis, wearing a helmet, leather jacket—the whole 9 yards of looking like a biker— swerves around me super fast and come to a complete halt.

Someone's hugging him from behind like there's no tomorrow. They stumble off the motorcycle and take off their helmet.

Rachel's horrified and pale face stares at me from behind her disheveled and wind blown hair.

"Rachel! Travis! Do you know where Percy is?" I'm in a rush to get those words out of my mouth as fast as I can.

"I was hoping you knew" She says in a small voice. "…_So I could beat the Kelp out of him for PAIRING ME UP WITH FREAKING TRAVIS STOLL!_" She ends up screaming, wildly attempting throw her helmet at him.

Travis ducks out of the way and flashes her an easy-going smile.

"Oh come _on_! I'm not _that_ bad at driving!" He stares admirably at the motorcycle.

"Travis…is that…" My mouth drops open for maybe the fifth time today.

"Yep. I think I just stole Ares' motorcycle. I do all the Hermes kid's proud." He puffs out his chest and grins smugly.

I shake my head, trying not to care too much about all this.

"Listen. I need to borrow this. It's Percy…He's in trouble." I'm already climbing onto his motorcycle, placing the heavy helmet over my head.

"Come _on!_" He whines. "I just stole that! Where else can we find something as awesome as that to destroy this place?"

I glower at him through the helmet.

"I think you've done _enough_ destruction. Find the others and call this plan off. And remember! If this whole thing goes wrong and I'm still stuck here…_I'm_ the one who has to clean up and rebuild this mess."

And with that depressing thought I turn on the motorcycle and zoom away.

I could basically hear Percy's smug voice in my head: "_And YOU said that it's too dangerous to ride motorcycles and that as Half-Bloods we have a lot more to worry about than learning to drive, Wise Girl_."

I smile as I ride over rubble. Score one for Percy. I'll admit he's right…for once.

**Percy's POV**

"Well, Percy Jackson. Why don't you give me one good reason to _not_ blast you off Olympus?" Athena taps her foot repeatedly, looking more like Annabeth then ever.

My dad seems to recover from his daze.

"Now hold on just a minute Athena! I'm _sure_ Percy came here with good intentions, didn't you son?" He stares at me, his sea green eyes boring deeply into mine.

All the Gods turn to stare at me, expectant.

"Well, I-I-I…" I choke up on my words, my mind becoming a blur.

_Err—why was I here again?_

"Now wait a second, Athena. Percy's the Hero of Olympus. I say we do what we always do—take a vote." Artemis says reasonably.

Aphrodite scowls. She walks over to my side and glares at everyone else.

Poseidon, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Hephaestus and Hestia cross over to stand by me too.

That leaves Athena, Ares, Hera, Zeus, Dionysus, Hades, Demeter and Persephone standing against me. Eight Gods against me and seven Gods with me. I felt my hope deflating.

"Wait a second! Persephone isn't _even_ a God! This isn't fair! It's _tied_!" Aphrodite shrieked in a shrill voice.

"Excuse me?" Persephone demanded.

"My wife _is_ a God! Aside from the fact that all she does is plant flowers, she's still a God in my eyes." Hades snaps.

Demeter whirls around to face Hades.

"You did _not_ just say that. Planting flowers is a _very_ important thing." She growls, defending her daughter.

"Planting _flowers_? That's the lamest power _ever_. Well, it's pretty girly…so yeah." Apollo snorts, shaking his head.

Now it's Artemis' turn to glare at him.

"What's_ that_ suppose to mean? Just because she's a girl, her power is considered…_lame?_" She demands in outrage.

"No, it's just the fact that all she can do is plant flowers. Take me for example; _none_ of the others can control the Sun, or do prophecies or heal. Now _these _are pretty important powers." Apollo looks proud.

"Oh yeah—and singing, dancing and _poetry _is important too." Artemis responds back sarcastically.

This causes everyone else to break out in outrage, saying that _their_ power is best.

"That's it. This ingrate has to go. He's messing up our family as it is." Hera gives me a dirty look and looks to Athena.

Athena advances on me, but Poseidon pushes me back and growls at her, his body glowing.

Thunder booms from all direction as Athena's body starts to glow too.

"Percy, look away!" Poseidon demands, shining more brightly.

I was just about to shut my eyes when I hear a roaring sound. Not like the roaring sound the ocean makes during a storm…but a distant and _really_ familiar sound.

Poseidon and Athena stop glowing momentarily and look up.

Aphrodite glances at Ares and her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Doesn't that sound like your…"

She never got to finish her sentence.

At that second, someone on Ares' motorcycle swerves past the corner and drives straight at us on full speed.

From the hurricane of blonde hair blowing from underneath the helmet, I had one pretty good guess who it was…yet it still shocked me to think _how_ she did what she's doing now.

Riding on the motorcycle –_Ares' motorcycle_-, driving at full speed directly aiming at the Olympians was my girlfriend…

Annabeth Chase.

**Alright. So I'm done this chapter! I can feel the end of this story approaching very, very soon! Thank you for all the amazing reviews!**

**What did you think of this chapter? It wasn't much, but at least it's something! :)**


	24. The Final Stand

**A/N: THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! :O Please make sure to read the A/N at the end of this chapter and tell me if you want an epilogue or not, alright? Thanks guys! :D**

**Annabeth's POV**

I honestly don't know what I was thinking.

Of course, when I first climbed onto the motorcycle I thought, _"Percy's in trouble and I have to find him!_"

BUT, as I kept driving, clutching, touching and inhaling Ares' motorcycle, I got angrier.

How _dare_ the Gods try to break Percy and me apart? He's _Percy_ and I'm _Annabeth_…we're _PERCABETH_ for Gods' sake!

I felt my face flush with anger and burning hatred.

"_The Gods are __so__ going to pay!" _was exactly what I was thinking when I put my idiotic plan to use.

_VROOOOOOM!_

I narrowed my eyes and revved the engine as I came insight of Percy and the Olympians. I stormed my way to them, coming closer and closer. This was it! The Gods were going _down_ for being such jerks! I grinned in anticipation but just as I was about to hit them, I was struck by a force field and I had gone flying…straight into my good ol' Seaweed Brain.

**Percy's POV**

The first thing I saw was Annabeth's limp body flying straight at me. I immediately held out my arms and she heavily landed into them. Now I'm not saying that catching her hurt—or for that matter, I'm also not saying that Annabeth's heavy.

Not to brag or anything, but I _am_ invincible.

But, the impact of her body sent me falling backwards. She still wasn't hurt (I softened the fall) but was unconscious from getting zapped by the force field.

"Oh man, Annabeth. Can you hear me?" I mutter quickly.

Just then, I hear a strange sound and grimly turn around.

Ares motorcycle had bounced off the force field too and was heading at our direction.

"What is this? Twilight?" I shout, shoving Annabeth behind me.

I brace myself, hold my breath and shut my eyes, waiting for the impact of the motorcycle.

Strange enough, it didn't come.

I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the Olympians. Their faces ranged from impassive to down right shocked.

"Athena…did your daughter, who is supposed to be our most _trusted_ architect, just try to run us over?" Zeus asks calmly.

Poseidon looks up at grins. "I say we banish her from her position as architect and let her return to Camp Half Blood."

Athena glares at Poseidon.

"How dare you blame my daughter? It was Ares' motorcycle that caused her to react in such a way."

Ares steps forward and glowers at the unconscious Annabeth.

"That twerp stole my bike!" he growls.

"Enough of this foolishness! Let's just take a vote on what to do with Barnacle Beard's son!" Zeus boomed.

Artemis frowned at Zeus. "We already did…Percy was outnumbered by one, Aphrodite accused Hestia of not being a God and we gave Perseus a chance to prove himself."

"Oh…right." Zeus says lamely.

They all stare at me, looking expectant. A couple of minutes ago I completely choked up, but now, with Annabeth's presence behind me, I knew exactly why I was here and what I was doing.

I take a deep breath.

"As you probably know by now…I'm here to take Annabeth back to where she belongs—Wait! Let me finish." I fix my stony stare onto Athena, who was on the verge of protesting.

"You think that Annabeth's life will be so much better if she stays on Olympus." I give them a wordless shrug and continue.

"You're probably right. She'll do what she loves best, earn a great name that'll go down in history and do you all proud."

"Err…Perce? I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to be _against_ Annabeth staying here." Rachel pipes up.

I look over to my shoulder and I see my friends, all ashen and grey—probably from all the mayhem they've caused.

"Let me finish!" I take another deep breath and continue.

"You _may_ think that you know best, but you're actually wrong."

This causes all the Gods to huff and puff and look all offended.

"People, Please!" I gesture to the unconscious Annabeth and stare back at Athena.

"Did you really think that _this_ would happen? You think you know Annabeth so well and what's best for her…but clearly, if she hijacked another Gods motorcycle and attempted to run you over…then that's really saying something."

Athena pursed her lips and considered this. Aphrodite gives me a wink and Poseidon gives me a discreet "thumbs up" sign.

Athena stride forward and pretty much gets in my face, staring me down.

I stiffen and resist the urge to say: _"Yo, homie! Why you all up in my grill?"_

She steps back, crosses her arms and narrows her eyes at me.

"Perseus Jackson, you have an _awful_ habit of proving me wrong. I've underestimated you a lot, but I'm willing to change. HOWEVER…as a mother, I must say: _if you ever, EVER hurt my daughter, I WILL find you and come after you._" She scorches the front of my shirt –Déjà vu!- just to prove her point. Then she huffs, and steps back to join the rest of the Gods.

I'm standing there, completely open mouthed, not knowing what to do or say.

"Well, Percy? Your princess waits." Aphrodite gives me a warm smile.

My eyes immediately go to Athena, whose statue still. She rolls her eyes and motions for me to go to Annabeth.

"I've been Annabeth's warden for too long now. It is your turn to take control, Perseus."

I nod at her, trying my hardest not to grin; I want to look serious and "in control". Taking a deep breath, I turn around slowly. My eyes land on Annabeth; the way her blonde hair is scattered around her, her pink lips parted. I imagine those intense stormy grey eyes under her closed eyelids.

I can feel everyone holding their breath as I kneel down to scoop her up into my arms.

She stirs a bit and soon enough her eyes flutter open and blink slowly up at me.

"Percy…you're here."

She smiles a little, half-conscious and finally at peace.

"Course I am. I love you, Wise Girl. I've _always_ loved you. And nothing…_NOTHING_ will keep me away from you." I vaguely hear Aphrodite sniffle and Athena saying in disbelief, "My Gods Aphrodite! Are you actually _crying_?"

I shift a bit, so that Annabeth's propped up against my arm. She stares at me with wonder (Come ON! Did _everyone_ REALLY think I wouldn't be able to get her back? Seriously guys, thanks for the support. Pfft.) and something deeper…

Love.

I can see my face reflected off her eyes and I can tell I'm looking at her the same way.

"Now then, Wise Girl. I'm here and I got you back. How about that kiss you promised?"

She gives me a lopsided smile and latches both of her hands around my neck. She pulls herself closer and is only inches away. Every inch of my skin that touches hers makes my nerves stand on their ends, blazing under the contact.

"I'm all yours Kelp Head."

We both lean in closer, but I hesitate and pull back just to look into those hauntingly lovely eyes again.

"JUST KISS ALREADY!" Everyone shrieks. A small portion of my brain laughs at how everyone –The Gods, Campers and even the nymphs- screamed it together. But of course, that was just a _small_part of my brain.

I grin down at her and whisper softly.

"_I love you."_

I vaguely hear an _"I love you too"_ before I lean in and press my lips softly against hers.

**And that's that!**

**Please tell me what you've thought of this chapter; I attempted to make the last scene really special, in honor of Percabeth. ;)**

**I wrote up an epilogue, but I'm not sure if I should post it or not :S**

**It's basically about their last day at Camp before the end of the summer; a last Hurrah for the awesomeness of the Stoll Brothers, the bad-ass-ness of Thalia, Pheme and Audrey finally getting what she deserves and of course; a LOT of Percabeth!**

**I don't know if I should post it or not or just leave things like this^^**

**Review and tell me I should or shouldn't! Is the story fine as it is, ending like this? You tell me! :)**

**But, if you say that the epilogue isn't necessary, then that means that this is my last A/N…so I would just like to say:**

**Thank you. THANK YOU. Thank you. THANK YOU. **

**Thank you. THANK YOU. **

**Thank you. THANK YOU. **

**Thank you. THANK YOU. **

**You guys have been AMAZING and I consider writing this story a success. All my constant reviewers (you know who you are!), you've been so much help to me and I LOVE you guys for it! :) I'm probably going to end up doing something really sappy and cheesy (you guys know by now how much I love sappyness) like messaging you guys of your awesomness or maybe if I post the epilogue, have like a 3 page A/N containing messages for each of you…Prepare to be…err…loved (?) to death?**

**Now, my last wish is for you guys to….REVIEWW! :)**

**PLEASE; IN YOUR REVIEW, TELL ME IF THERE SHOULD BE AN EPILOGUE OR NOT!**

**Thanks for reading, everyone! :)**


	25. Just Kiss Me

**Epilogue! Thanks for your reviews, everyone! :)**

**Annabeth's POV**

It's the last day of summer; the last day of Camp.

I absentmindedly dangle me feet into the lake while I lean back and close my eyes, soaking up the sunshine. My hand unconsciously wraps around the new bead I've got from this year.

All the campers decided to make Percy and I our own unique bead. It was in the shape of a heart with lips carved into them. Cheesy, I know. But it represents this summer perfectly well; it started off as such a mess but it went really well in the end…

***Flashback of the day before***

_Percy and I walked hand in hand, our faces still red from that kiss. The campers walked in front of us and then the Gods who were in front of our group._

"_I'm sure we could find someone to do a bit of work around here—the architecture's just fine the way it is. There's no need to rebuild—"Athena stops talking and stares, wide eyed at the total mess we made up on Olympus. Everything was shattered, broken and torn to bits._

"_PER…SE…US…JACKSON!" She shouts, whirling around to face Percy._

_Percy –poor, poor Percy- instantly paled, at a loss for words. I stepped in, an evil smirk on my face, while my brain buzzed with thoughts._

"_Mom…can you do us one more favor? I know __just__ the person to clean up Olympus." I exchange evil and smug grins with my friends, who immediately caught on._

***End of Flashback***

And _that's_ how we got rid of Audrey. She'll be gone for the rest of the year…but she'll be back for summer. But I know that I'll be ready for her…we all will.

I continue splashing my feet against the lake when suddenly a hand shoots out, grabs my ankle and pulls me into the lake with lightning quick speed.

Momentarily, I wasn't able to breathe, but soon enough we were in a bubble of oxygen under the lake. Who's '_we',_ you may ask? Oh, it's just the Seaweed Brain and I.

I give him a scowl, preparing to give him a well thought out lecture on how sneaking up on people is bad, but his expression stopped me short. He smirked and boldly lunged at me, attacking me…with kisses.

I laugh and kiss him back. We stand like that, kissing for a ridiculous amount of time.

Eventually, I pull back –just a bit- and he starts trailing kisses from my jaw to my neck before I laugh and push him away.

"Kelp Head, what's gotten into you?" I demand playfully, trying to control my breathing.

He shrugs and offers me an adorable smile. "I'm just trying to make up for all the kisses we've missed out on this summer."

I give him a half smile and wrap my fingers around his.

"And this time, without any paparazzi, right?"

We both laugh, shaking our head at the memory.

***ANOTHER Flashback…of the night before***

_We're sitting by the lake, enjoying ourselves. I turn to Percy…to find him staring at me._

"_What?"_

_He shakes his head. "You're…you're HUMMING a song!"_

_I look away and spoke defensively. "So? I'm happy and when I'm happy I do happy things, like happily humming which makes me even happier."_

_Percy smirks. "You said 'happy' five times in one sentence…who's the Kelp Head now?"_

_I grin. "Oh, so you think that __you're__ such a Wise Girl?"_

"_Girl!" He pretends to look offended. "Annabeth, I'm ANYTHING but a girl."_

"_Says who?"_

_He ponders this and scoots closer to me._

"_Says me." He whispers and kisses me once, softly._

_Click. Flash._

_Pheme steps forward, her tape recorder poised in one hand. "Sneaking late at night, Love Birds? SO busted!" she smirks, holding out her tape recorder._

_I stare at her, about to frankly tell her off, when I hear a shout._

_We all turn in the direction of the noise and see…__TRAVIS STOLL__ swing from the rope swing on a nearby tree._

_He screams "I AM TRAVIS, LORD OF THE APES!" right before landing on Pheme, tackling her to the ground. Her tape recorder goes flying, straight into Connor's hands._

"_Grover, go long!" He shouts with a grin. Our heads swivel to see Grover, Nico, Rachel, Clarisse and Chris standing nearby. Thalia's crouching over a groaning Travis –he probably got scratched from the fall._

"_Travis, I never knew you had such a Tarzan fetish." She laughs, shaking her head. He manages a grin through all his shock. Travis and Thalia getting along? I never thought I'd see the day…_

_Everyone else is playing hacky sack with Pheme's tiny recorder, throwing it around. Grover eventually passes it to Percy, who was caught off guard. It lands in the water with a __splat__ and it doesn't resurface._

"_Where'd it go? Give it back!" Pheme growls angrily._

_I hear Percy murmur a small "Thanks, Dad." And I'm sure Pheme won't see it again any time soon._

_I step forward. I take slow, precise steps until I'm only a couple feet away from Pheme._

"_Get lost, Pheme. Whatever you tried to do or sabotage, it didn't work. It'll never work. Leave, now. You're only humiliating yourself by doing this." I speak quickly and calmly._

_Instead of sensibly nodding and leaving, she shrieks and runs at me, arms flailing. Predictably, I knew she would do that and I side stepped her. She couldn't slow down fast enough and ended up belly flopping into the lake. She resurfaces sputtering madly._

_I had a feeling that she wouldn't mess with us ever, ever again._

***End of Flashback***

Percy and I are still laughing from that incident. I can't help but giggle. Yes, yes…you heard me right. I, Annabeth Chase, am able to giggle. I'm still giggling, even after Percy stops. He smiles at me and brushes his fingers softly across my arms, gliding them up to my shoulders and then up to my hair, where he twirls it around.

I sigh, absolutely content as he trails patterns all over my arms. I take a couple more steps to get closer to him and I lean my head onto his shoulder and wrap my arms around his neck. His arms circle around me and pull me even closer.

Slowly, one hand trails up my back –inserts shiver here- until it reaches my neck. The other hand stays put on the small of my back.

Percy tilts me back and stares at me. He doesn't say anything, just stares straight into my eyes.

I smile. He's becoming like me in so many ways. I stare back at him, attempting to express how much I love him through my eyes.

This frustrates me. They say that your eyes are your windows to your soul but it clearly isn't enough for the both of us.

Instead I lean in and press my lips against his. This is better. _Way_ better.

He smiles in surprise and is soon kissing me back. It's soft, it's gentle. It's a lot more refreshing compared to what we've been through these past few weeks.

…It's amazing.

Suddenly, he presses his lips harder against mines. His arms are becoming frenzied and unsure. They flit from my waist to my hair to my back and then to my face again.

I pull back a bit, but he just as quickly closes the space, crushing me to him.

"PERSEUS!"

He stops instantly and looks at me with a comical deer-caught-in-headlights expression.

"Percy, what's wrong?" I give him a hard stare, speaking slowly.

"It's time to go. We have to go back…_now_. I can hear people leaving." He pulls back and starts to pace.

I think I know where this is going.

I gently place my hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"I'm not leaving this time, I _promise_."

He turns around, his face serious.

"Do you promise?"

I smile and swallow down a lump in my throat. GODS, I'm becoming such a mush.

"I promise. I'm _never_ leaving."

His face reddens. "Sorry for that freak out I just had. It's just all the stress…"

I smile and lean in to peck him really quickly.

"That's alright…you _are_ a Seaweed Brain, after all."

He smiles and holds my hand without any hesitation.

"And you're my Wise Girl."

"So…one more kiss to end off this summer?" I grin.

We both lean in at the same time and end up bonking our foreheads against each others.

I pull back, wincing at the quickly-fading pain.

We stop and listen. Usually by this time, we would hear or see someone pop out of nowhere and scream _"Just Kiss ALREADY!"_…but nope. Not a sound.

"I guess everyone's gone." Percy shrugs, not looking too bothered.

"Well, I can't believe you're such a mess about it." I tease, wondering why he isn't sad about the fact that the summer's over.

He pulls me close and lightly presses my forehead against his.

"If you were wondering, I'm more relieved that sad. You'll be with me for the rest of the year."

I pull back a bit. "Percy! I told you already! I'll be with you _forever_ and I said that I'm not going any—"

"Just kiss me already, Annabeth." Percy groans, pulling me to him.

And from that moment on I could tell…

We _definitely_ didn't need to be told twice to kiss…ever, ever again.

**Done! Finally, FINALLY done!**

**Thank you EVERYONE for all the reviews and also everyone for even reading my story!**

**P.S. I MADE A NEW STORY! BUT, I think I'll actually start putting up chapters by the start of the school year. All I have up is the prologue; it doesn't seem like Percabeth kind of story, but I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX that it is!...Or that it will be! Make sure you guys check it out!**

**I love all my reviewers and their AMAZING reviews; down below is a list of my most constant reviewers (I spent about 45 minutes looking through all my reviews and keep tracking of you guys…it was a very joyful 45 minutes xD). Either you guys reviewed a GAZILLION times (More like 3-12 xD), made me laugh, made me smile, or just plain and simple: made my day. ****I'm sorry if I forgot anyone, but even if I did, you know who you are and you know that I know that you're an awesome reviewer…and you're pretty much the best!**** :)**

**Have a good summer everyone! Sophomore year here I come! (It feels really good to no longer be a freshman!) :) **

**FunnelCakes**

**Dreamin'OfABlondeFang**

**Lynnnnyl**

**Candy0304**

**Reader1245**

**Bookgroupie**

**General of the BVB Army**

**ReadrOfBooks**

**SeaweedBrain113097**

**Twilightadorer**

**Iceskatesk**

**SkylerPhoenix**

**Readermillions girl**

**NiniC**

**GothicNicoLover**

**Percabeth13**

**Elena Fisher**

**..Blonde**

**Percyfan15**

**yfit**

**ArtemisAndApollorock26**

**Bookninja15**

**Alexandriarulzforeva**

**JayJay-Lynn**

**TimeTraveler15**

**Snowslash**

**Noodlepancake**

**Hopee2**

**Demigod Kid**

**iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream**

**I Love Annabeth**

**Squirtlepokemon215**

**Nowhere Is Darkness**

**Momsforpercy**

**Daughter Of Poseidon**

**xXxWiseGirlXxX**


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